Documentary films return to the Knaresborough feva line-up this August as the festival showcases over 80 separate events, 19 art shows and a dozen special ‘flavours’ menu offerings. The result, say the volunteer organisers, offers the widest choice for festival-goers yet.
This year’s 10-day Festival of Entertainment and the Visual Arts kicks off on Friday 9 August and will run through to Sunday 18 August. About a third of the feva events are free and feature street entertainment loved by the kids, art shows and happenings. The whole festival works to keep costs down and prices for the majority of ticketed events are £10 or less.
The feva Programme is available free from shops, hotels and other outlets in and around Knaresborough as well as tourist offices, and details are available online at www.feva.info. Tickets will be sought after and can be bought at the Knaresborough Tourist Information Centre; some of the bookings can be made online.
Three documentary films will be shown during feva at the Fraser Theatre. Sports coaching makes its first appearance with an afternoon of rugby training for all ages and genders at the Knaresborough Community Centre. Yoga sessions are another first-timer and there are workshops for singing tunes from Les Miz, for making scarecrows, for learning Molly Dancing, and for all sorts of medieval skills with a day of play at Knaresborough Castle.
Of course, the standard feva standbys will feature too: music concerts, plays and dance performances, walks and talks, a chance again to learn about Yorkshire’s bat populations, the bad behaviour of Roman deities and the habits of ladies in Regency times.
The Lions’ beer festival helps start feva on 9 and 10 August, and there will be a cider festival on the last night at the Royal Oak. Henshaws are hosting a burlesque feva night and there will be performances of the Guys and Dolls musical, Desire and Calendar Girls.
Knaresborough is very fortunate to have attracted top live musical entertainers Hope and Social, the American duo Larkin Poe, Steve Womack, Gilmore and Roberts, as well as local bands The Wilde (winners of this year’s Harrogate Battle of the Bands), Barcode Zebra and Cartoon Food among others. The Stones, one of Europe’s top tribute bands, will be raising the rafters at the Working Men’s Club.
There will be classical music concerts by Knaresborough pro Musica, a workshop by the Choral Society and a trip around the cosmos organised by the Yorkshire Wind Orchestra. Everything builds up to Knaresborough’s famous free Picnic in the Park, which will be held this year on Saturday 17 August.
feva chairman John Minary said:
There is something for everyone, young and old.
Last year was our biggest festival in terms of number of happenings and people who came. We are aiming at matching that but have worked this year to broaden the range. One thing is for certain, feva continues to be the highlight of the summer for us in North Yorkshire.
The festival has been staged since 1996, being rebranded feva in 2001. It is organised by unpaid volunteers and is a not-for-profit initiative. Friends of feva have priority on booking. To become a Friend at just £10 a year, download a form from the website or pick up a copy from Knaresborough Library.
