Street fest extravaganza for Weston

 

A PROGRAMME of street dance, music, art and comedy is coming to Weston-super-Mare as part of a drive to celebrate the creativity of young people.

Streetfest 2010 will take place on the Beach Lawns from September 10-12 and will offer a weekend of fun, free events for the whole family.

The three day extravaganza event will kick off on September 10 at 12.30pm with a carnival parade along the promenade led by African drum, song and dance troupe Siyaya.

More than 500 children from Walliscote, Ashcombe and Bournville Primary schools will also take place in the parde.

The celebrations continue with a fashion freestyle show direct from London College of Fashion's summer residency at 5pm.

The fun continues into the evening with performances on the main stage from bands from Weston College and new acts generated as part of North Somerset's Find Your Talent initiative.

Throughout the weekend the main stage will play host to street dance at its very best with stars such as Akai, Nemesis, Mark Calape and the Animaineax performing and leading workshops.

Youngsters will be able to try all sorts of dance including breakdancing, hip hop and free running.

They will be able to train alongside the experts and taken part in a competition and be crowned Streetfest 2010 champion.

The main stage will also host live music from Nicole Fermie, Portlan, Tankus the Henge, Sleeping with Satellites, the Ryan Inglis Band, Last of the Blue Flamingos plus many more acts.

In the circus big top there will be art, music and dance workshops for under fives, drumming workshops, storytelling with Jane Flood, Michael Loader and Martin Maudsley and music making with the Drum Blondes.

There will also be circus skills with Wookey Hole Circus School, and the inspirational Weapons of Sound who are offering people the chance to play in Britain's junkiest, funkiest band.

Young people aged 12 years or more can sign up for a master class in street theatre with the internationally acclaimed Natural Theatre Company and comedy workshops with nationally renowned The Comedy School.

Weston's first street game - Weston Super Nightmare - which has been specially commissioned for 14-16-year-olds, will also be running throughout the weekend.

Limited numbers can play the game on Friday and Saturday night and those wanting to get involved should register to play now at www.westonsupernightmare.org

On Saturday night there will be a silent disco with DJs Alikat and John Kendall in the big top.

Events are also taking part across the town including a poetry slam on Saturday and a photography exhibition at Barcode Youth Cafe which runs from September 6-17.

Streetfest 2010 has been planned and funded by Find Your Talent and Outdoor Events UK whose Streetfest 2009 event was such a huge hit last year.

For more information and to sign up for the comedy and street theatre workshops please contact fyt@n-somerset.gov.uk or call 01275 884 220.

A full programme of events can be found at www.streetfestuk.com.