HADCAF 2011 programme published
Preparations being finalised for 20th anniversary season
PROGRAMMES and tickets for the Hungerford and District Community Arts Festival (HADCAF) are now available from the town branch of the Newbury Building Society.
Programmes are also available from Hungerford Library and other outlets around the town, and the full list of events may be seen on the festival website: www.hadcaf.co.uk
Now in its 20th year, the Festival takes place from Friday, July 1 to Sunday, July 24, launching with By George!, a witty revue on the subject of Englishness performed by actor, singer and pianist Michael Lunts.
It draws to a close three weeks later with a recital by Kausikan Rajeshkumar, a supremely talented young pianist who has twice been a finalist in recent BBC Young Musician of the Year competitions.
The annual Art, Craft and Photography Exhibition takes place in Hungerford Corn Exchange over the weekend of July 1,2 and 3. Anyone wishing to display their work should contact Kath Nurse on 01488 657525 or email kath.nurse@virgin.net
As always the Festival encompasses a wide range of events. Highlights this year include an audience with the former Poet Laureate, Andrew Motion; an exhilarating evening with swing band King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys; Benjamin Britten's comic opera Albert Herring and the world premiere of The Real Raider of the Lost Ark, based on an extraordinary Edwardian adventurer which has been specially created for local actor Nicholas Lumley.
Musical items include a concert of baroque music for voices and strings performed by Newbury Symphony Orchestra with the Enborne Consort; Mozart sonatas for violin and piano performed by Edmund Jones and Mami Shikimori and an evening of jazz, blues and soul presented by The Adam Winslet Sextet.
Students of Birmingham Conservatoire offer a programme of opera favourites and musical theatre, and there is a performance and master class by one of the world's finest guitarists, Guthrie Govan, known for his work with Dizzee Rascal.
In addition to author events and book readings there are talks on subjects as diverse as contemporary designer silversmiths, vegetable growing and the fashions of the 1940s. The Festival workshops are similarly eclectic, ranging from monoprinting and fly-tying to harmony singing and creative textiles.
It doesn't all take place indoors: as well as open air concerts there are farm visits, open gardens and themed guided walks: woodland, wild flower, ancient meadowland, marsh and riverside.
