Worcester Festival 2018

Saturday 11th – Monday 27th August

Box Office 01905 611427 / www.worcesterfestival.co.uk

Team Gear Up for Worcester Festival 2018!

The Worcester Festival team are gearing up ahead of this year’s Worcester Festival, with just two weeks to go until Mayor of Worcester Councillor Jabba Riaz declares this year’s Festival officially open!

Back for its 16th year, Worcester Festival 2018 kicks off on Saturday 11th August and runs right through to the August bank holiday on Monday 27th August, with events and activities happening all over the city every single day.

Fans of the Festival will be delighted to hear that the inimitable Gugge 2000 band are back to launch this year’s Festival, following a hiatus last year. Having opened the Festival every year since2008, the vibrant ‘black-and-yellow’ or ‘bumblebee’ band has become synonymous with the opening Saturday, and their infectious, feel-good brand of live, loud and highly entertaining music has always gone down a storm.

Other festival favourites will also be returning, including Festival mascot Percy the Peacock, the fabulous Funky Faces Face Painters, the Swan Theatre Summer Fête, and the annual St Richard’s Hospice Duck Race. However, there is also plenty that is brand new for this year’s Festival, including a whole programme of events at the newly opened Henry Sandon Hall on the Royal Porcelain Works site. From children’s craft workshops and fun puppetry and storytelling, to a one-off ‘Try The Horn’ day and a special Festival Ceilidh, there will be something to tempt everyone along to explore this exciting new arts venue. And, of course, the fabulous Worcester Stands Tall Giraffe Trail will be running throughout this year’s Festival, with families able to set off in search of the dozens of stunning giraffe sculptures dotted around the city.

Elsewhere, Academy Theatre Arts will be holding a week-long summer school for 5-13-year-olds, Worcester City Art Gallery & Museum has its wonderful woolly-mammoth-containing ICE AGE exhibition, The Commandery will be hosting medieval inspired activities aplenty, and Worcester Cathedral is offering the opportunity to ‘Discover Something Different’ with a fantastic programme of events and activities, including quirky tours, workshops and exhibitions.

This year also sees the return of the Worcester Show at Gheluvelt Park, and the launch of the Swan Theatre Pantomime, Maid Marian and the Merry Men, with the characters parading down the High Street with The Ambassadors Showband Darby on the final Saturday. A Family Prize Quiz Trail is back for the fourth year running, as is the Crowngate Percy Trail – look out for Percy’s face in shop windows throughout Crowngate to find out more. 

As always, the Festival will come to an end with a bang with the St Richard’s Hospice Festival Fireworks, a great finale to the fortnight's celebrations on the August Bank Holiday Monday, with entertainment down on South Quay from 9pm before the display at 10pm.

Festival Director Chris Jaeger said: “August is always an exciting time in Worcester, and this August will be no exception. The Worcester Festival is a people’s festival. It offers a wide range of eclectic events for all the family, and many of the events are free. What could be better at holiday time? It’s a great opportunity to try an event at a venue you’ve never been to, or perhaps to try something you’ve never done before. We really hope as many people as possible come along and get involved. Let’s get celebrating!”

Visit www.worcesterfestival.co.uk or call the Box Office on 01905 611 427 to find out more!