Cumbria gets ready for major street arts festival

A Cumbrian town is gearing up for one of the region’s biggest and brightest street arts festivals. Around 200 performers from across the world will take to the stages, streets and parks of Kendal between Friday 29th and Sunday 31st August in a series of exciting and unusual performances for the Mintfest international street arts festival.

Audiences will come face to face with a talking compost heap, a Gallic James Bond style hero doing battle with an evil villain and some space cadets bearing gifts of yellow Y-fronts from far away galaxies. There will also be a chance to see some giant puppets taking part in a bizarre dance spectacle and to watch a show inside the belly of a giant pig. And anyone who feels under dressed will be shown how to make themselves a stylish hat by a French origami expert.

The event will officially be launched on the Friday evening at 8pm on Nobles Rest park with performances by Dutch entertainers Tuig who use fire, air and water to spectacular effect, and Bash Street Theatre with their highly-acclaimed real life silent-movie style production Cliffhanger. The evening will finish with a powerful and colourful Spanish fireworks finale from pa-BOOM.

Over the rest of the weekend every corner of this attractive market town on the edge of the Lake District will come alive with comedians, jugglers, magicians, musicians and other colourful street arts acts and most of the performances are free.

On Saturday afternoon the Whalley Range All Stars will perform Compost Mentis, in which the audience will be lead up the garden path by a large compost heap and the gardener who looks after it. Their relationship slowly begins to break down when it's discovered that the compost heap has a life of its own and harbours thoughts that are fermenting within.

Over the weekend the Whalley Range All Stars will also be introducing audiences to their 30’ long sleeping sow, snuffling and snoring in a pen. A farm-hand will offer the public the opportunity to act like pigs and take a peek at a 10 minute long show that takes place inside her belly.

Later on Saturday and again on Sunday French performer Joe Sature will be taking on the role of a James Bond style hero ‘Peter Smith’ in his show Operation Beta in Abbott Hall Park. Peter Smith throws himself with alacrity into the hunt for the evil John Bad. Will he manage to defeat Bad’s plans and save the world? The show is a piece of glorious slapstick comedy from one of France’s leading outdoor performance companies.

Also on Saturday evening Bread and Butter Theatre will be performing Gifted the Space Cadet in Abbott Hall Park. The audience find themselves in a comic cosmic game show with a mind bending finale, with gifts of yellow Y-fronts from far away galaxies.

Over in the Brewery Arts Centre highly acclaimed German band the 17 Hippies will be making their British debut as part of Mintfest Rhythms of the World.

On Sunday The Grand Theatre of Lemmings will perform in Abbott Hall Park. Their ‘amazing mechanical dancers show’ is the story of two crazy people fighting against the odds to create a bizarre dance spectacle with giant puppets. The show begins with fast moving comedy as their costumes get tangled and they entertain the crowds with a variety of stunts and comic antics.

On both Saturday and Sunday Le Chapeau Magique from France will be introducing the art of origami and giving people the chance to make their own hat so they can stand out from the crowd.

The Singing Mountain Choir will provide the Grand Finale on Sunday evening at 8pm. The event starts with a magical torchlit walk to Kendal Castle to hear this dynamic and vivacious group who are dedicated to performing songs from the Republic of Georgia and other countries, celebrating some of the world’s great singing traditions.

Mintfest is being supported by a number of organisations, including the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA).

Peter Mearns, Executive Director of Marketing, NWDA comments:

“The NWDA is delighted to support this year’s Mintfest, which brings alive the outdoor stage with a whole range of exciting performances, set against some of the UK’s most stunning Lakes and Mountains. The Lake District is already home to an excellent collection of visitor experiences and creative events throughout the year, showcasing England’s Northwest as a culturally dynamic region.

“We hope this year’s event will encourage a wider audience to explore the outstanding assets of England’s Northwest.”

Julie Tait, from Kendal Arts International, which is organising the event, says: “Mintfest has something for everyone including traditional street arts, some of the most amazing and innovative artists you are likely to see anywhere and some great music. We believe it will inspire, amuse, amaze and captivate local people and visitors alike.”

More information on all the acts taking part in this year’s Mintfest can be found at Mintfest.org.