ArtsFest is an arts festival – I think you guessed that! It takes place here in Birmingham every year at the beginning of September. It as a free festival – you do not have to pay to go to any of the concerts, performances or exhibitions in Artsfest. In fact, ArtsFest is the biggest free arts festival in Britain.
ArtsFest is specifically for the arts in Birmingham and the towns around it. Of course, the big local arts organisations such as the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, the Birmingham Royal Ballet and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra all took part. But so did hundreds of smaller organisations both professional and amateur – theatre groups, pop groups, choirs and dance groups. All of them were keen to tell everyone about what they do. Some of them wanted to find an audience for their next concert. Some of them wanted to find new members.Theatre companies pressed people to come to their next show. One woman asked me to sing in an opera, another to join her choir. (Have they ever heard me sing? No!) There were films and poetry readings. The university art gallery told us the story behind some of its paintings. Children made artwork, and learned how to play the drums. A Latin-American dance group taught us all how to dance the Mambo. Irish pipe bands marched through the street. There were displays of Bhangra singing and dancing, because Birmingham is a major centre for Punjabi Bhangra music. And much, much more. But best of all, the sun shone all weekend, and over 100,000 people came to ArtsFest to enjoy themselves. I have made a short video about ArtsFest 2006. You can view it on the podcast website, and if you are really lucky you may be able to download it to your iPod.
