Dates announced for Winchester Hat Fair
Hat Fair, Winchester, the UK’s longest running and most exciting Street Theatre Festival, has announced the dates for this year’s 36th festival – Thursday 1 July to Sunday 4 July 2010.
Now even bigger and better than last year, Hat Fair 2010 continues to uphold its reputation for presenting innovative and beautiful outdoor performances, exciting, unique and highly skilled small-scale shows and an engaging programme of community arts and education, woven skilfully into the heart of the beautiful city of Winchester.
This year’s Hat Fair will offer four amazing days, jam-packed with hundreds of breathtaking performances from over 40 national and international companies taking place throughout Winchester’s ancient streets. And remarkably in a credit crunch world, Hat Fair doesn’t charge the 30,000-strong audience a penny, though donations are welcome.
Named after the tradition of throwing donations into performers’ hats, Hat Fair started as a buskers’ festival in 1974. Now, 36 years later, its evolution has been fascinating and astounding.
The 2010 programme is both explosive and inspirational, featuring 44 artists and companies from all over the globe including the United Kingdom, Australia, America and France.
As ever, there are community and education projects including Inside Out Day on Thursday, involving a procession through the city by local school children who knock on the doors of civic buildings, asking senior representatives of the City a questions of choice. Organised this year by theatrical company Wet Picnic, Inside Out Day will prove more progressive and innovative than ever more.
Martin Tod, PPC Lib Dem, commented “One highlight for me is Inside Out, where local children walk down the High Street and ask people from a range of different jobs and professions to come out and answer their questions. They're definitely some of the hardest questions I've had to face!”
Friday is traditionally Schools Day with a colourful procession of over 1000 children in costume with music and dance, culminating in outdoor theatre, circus and craft workshops in the grounds of the city’s famous cathedral.
Keith Wilson, Business Improvement District Manager, Winchester City Centre Partnership Ltd said, “Hat Fair is tremendously important for Winchester. Aside from the huge increase in footfall and trade the festival brings to the city the real value is in the sense of community and coming together the event gives the people of Winchester. Winchester city centre is a great place to be the whole year round but Hat Fair really is a truly unmissable and joyous moment in the annual calendar.”
Sian Thomas, Artistic Director of Hat Fair Celebrations, enthused “Hat Fair is a wonderful thing! Now in its 36th year, the Hat Fair has the feeling of a European festival in the way that it feels owned by the people of the town, the vibrancy of the programme and the fiesta atmosphere".
For more information, visit: hatfair.co.uk