Friday 21 March 2014

Buxton Festival Launch Feels the Fringe

Enjoyed attending the Buxton Festival launch yesterday and hearing about their exciting, expanded programme full of opera, literature and music, all carefully planned to fill a festival-goer's day (though we reckon there are still more than enough gaps in which to squeeze a Fringe show or two).

It was gratifying to hear the Festival's executive director Randall Shannon acknowledging the Fringe as the Festival's 'partner in crime' and pointing out how together the Fringe and Festival provide a 'riot of activity' every July. The launch was shared with the Buxton Spa Prize (see www.buxtonspaprize.co.uk), a brand new competition to encourage artists to work in the open air and create 2-D pictures of Buxton landmarks. This was the brainchild of Trevor Osborne, a longterm supporter of the Fringe, and Trevor paid his own heartfelt tribute to the Fringe and the Festival alike in his speech. The feeling from everyone at the moment seems to be that Buxton is really celebrating its identity as a 'festival town' and undoubtedly that has helped raise its profile when it comes to being recognised as a finalist in the Great Town Awards 2014 and in recent The Sunday Times's guide to the 'best places to live'.

So it was a good do and much networking was done - I learnt along the way that Beltane is to reopen shortly for example. And of course I particularly enjoyed the Waitrose-style posh snacks (thanks Keith for pointing out that other supermarkets are available.) I myself can be found in many of them though not all at the same time...


Buxton Fringe

Website: www.buxtonfringe.org.uk
Facebook: buxtonfringe
Twitter: @buxtonfringe


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