Festival of Light 2024
Our annual Festival of Light lit up the streets of Newbury once more on Sunday (15 Dec), uniting local people in an illuminated procession.
From terrific lantern making workshops, to opportunities to lead this phenomenal parade as part of our community Samba Band, everyone was made to feel welcome and included in coming together to celebrate the festive season.
The Festival of Light has seen over 30,000 people engage in the festival over the past twelve years, with 9,600 people having participated in the parade during that time. This year's parade travelled along Northbrook Street before arriving in the Market Place where locals enjoyed catchy live music from band La Mort Subite and the beats of our community Samba band.
In preparation of the event, we ran a number of free Lantern Making Workshops, at 101 Outdoor Arts for people to create traditional pyramid lanterns out of sustainable materials and use as part of the procession. We also ran 6 Lantern Making Workshops in local schools, ensuring that an additional 271 local young people were able to get involved and ignite their creativity for this festive celebration.
This year's procession saw 800 people taking part in the parade, with 400 lanterns making their way down Northbrook Street, with extravagant designs like Flamingos, Swans, an Octopus and even Paddington Bear! Around 2500 people came to line the streets and watch the parade on its journey through the town, enjoying the beautifully crafted lanterns, live music from band La Mort Subite and the wonderful festive atmosphere.
Our community Samba Band joined the procession through Northbrook Street. Led by Reading based Music Charity Readipop, the Samba band featured both experienced drummers from Beatroots Bateria and members of the community who were guided through the process of learning the samba instruments, rehearsing the patterns and routines and forming a marching drumming troupe to perform at our magical winter parade.
Based on a former US nuclear airbase outside Newbury, 101 Outdoor Arts has grown to be a unique powerhouse for creativity, supporting the creation of hundreds of performances and installations destined to be showcased at festivals, major arts events and cultural programmes both across the UK and internationally. Whilst the we have been presenting outdoor events in Newbury for over 12 years, this year marks ten years since we opened the 101 National Centre for Arts in Public Space. With the support of Arts Council England and Greenham Trust, 101 hosts hundreds of artists every year in the centre’s unique facility, which includes residential accommodation and scenic fabrication facilities, and where the lanterns and festival programme is created.
101 Outdoor Arts produces a year-round, free programme of national and international outdoor arts performances with us here at the Corn Exchange Newbury, engaging thousands of audiences annually, and striving to involve thousands of local participants, volunteers and community groups across Newbury to widen the scope for creative engagement in the arts.
The Festival of Light is always a highlight of the year for us; bringing together local people and volunteers to create beautiful lanterns and bringing our community together in an illuminated procession. It is a joy to see families and friends gather to enjoy this magical event and to know that people love it enough to keep it fixed in their calendars.
Jessica Jhundoo-Evans Director, Corn Exchange Newbury
Photo credit: Adam Hillier Photography
