15th Thatcham Festival starts tomorrow (Saturday)
71 events planned over 14 days
THE 15th Thatcham Festival gets underway tomorrow (Saturday).
The 14-day event will be packed with 71 events showcasing activities available in the town and the talents of Thatcham residents.
The festival will be officially opened by the mayor of Thatcham, Sheila Ellison, at 10am on the Broadway Green.
The festival will run from Saturday, October 10, until Friday, October 23.
The opening day on Saturday features 13 events.
Kicking off the festival will be 200 children from 12 primary schools taking part in the 25th Primary Schools Tag Rugby Festival.
The event, first held at Turnpike School but now at the Henwick Worthy Sports Field, encourages children to participate in the sport. It will run from 9am to 1pm.
Meanwhile local crafters will be selling their creations at the Festival Craft Fair, held on the Broadway Green and St Mary’s Church between 10am and 3pm.
There’s also the Thatcham Classic Car Show, raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support, on Dunstan Green between 10am and 3pm; a photographic display hosted by Thatcham Photographic Club in the Old Bluecoat School; a history of Thatcham pubs by Thatcham historian Dr Nick Young; an illustration workshop held by Simon Jardine in the town council chambers; and an open session of wheelchair basketball staged by Thatcham based Thames Valley Kings at the Kennet Leisure Centre between noon and 2pm.
Other highlights throughout the festival period include the Kennet School Old Pupils Association 8th annual reunion held at Kennet School between noon and 4pm on October 11; The Kennet School art exhibition; an introduction to the Thatcham night sky by Newbury Astronomical Society; young people can learn to rock with the Rock Project Reading at the North Thatcham Children's Centre; a talk on the Old Bluecoat School Trust plans for the building; and the Festival Leisure Fair, where local organisations will be promoting their services on the Broadway between 10am and 3pm on the 17th.
Some events are free to attend but others will require a ticket from the festival box office in Picture It, in High Street.
For more information on this year’s festival visit www.thatchamfestival.info or pick up a guide from Thatcham Town Council’s offices in Brownsfield Road.
