Events // Wirral Earth Fest 2015 (11th & 12th September, West Kirby)

Wirral Earth Fest returns on September 11^th and 12^th for another edition of good green fun organised by Transition Town West Kirby in partnership with St Bridget’s Church.

Bringing together local makers, artists, community groups and many more from further afield the festival will open with a special evening in the atmospheric surrounds of St Bridget’s Church, West Kirby. The event will feature especially composed live music from Chester and Liverpool based multi-media collective Operation Lightfoot and Wirral based folk duo The Kirk Owls and a special appearance from John Ashton, former special advisor to the UK government on climate change. 

John is a well loved speaker and for this evening he will present something a little bit different that will reflect his journey whilst informing us of the realities of climate change. John shared with us: “I’m driven by the conviction that we will be unable to come to terms with any of the challenges we now face unless we decode what they (governments) are telling us not only about what we should do, but also about who we are.” John is developing a new piece for our festival and we are honoured to have him with us. 

The rest of the evening will feature music from Operation Lightfoot and The Kirk Owls, both taking inspiration from Hilbre Island and The Dee Estuary. The piece will celebrate these special natural features of the Wirral landscape and offer some thoughts on why we should treasure them. Luke Moore of Operation Lightfoot said: “It’s exciting to be bringing a new piece of music to Wirral Earth Fest. Last year’s event was truly wonderful and to be involved again is a real privilege.” (Listen to part of their 2014 performance 'Midgard' below) Tom Lockett of The Kirk Owls added: “We are immensely excited to be part of this celebration of a truly magical place; one that holds no shortage of inspiration for us both, creatively and as a place to live and work.”

The second day of the festival will feature, among others, Tam O’Shanters urban farm with some of their animals and volunteer team, and rangers from Dibbinsdale promoting forest skills and crafts. A specially commissioned ‘Commitment Tree’ made by Dibbinsdale artists and West Kirby based artist, Marko Muller, will challenge visitors to make a small change in their daily lives for the good of others and the environment. 

Look out also for delicious food and drink, activities for all the family including workshops and the usual range of excellent music from locally and beyond. Artists appearing this year include the previously announced Operation Lightfoot, Award winning local young songwriter Tabitha Jade, up and coming local musician Lucy Mayhew, the unique voice of Thom Morecroft, Manchester based singer-songwriter Tiki Black and Wirral based storyteller extraordinaire Tom Goodale. More artists will be announced closer to the festival. 

Sebastian Gahan, Creative Producer for performance based activities said: “We’re very excited about this year’s edition of Wirral Earth Fest. Every year has been a revelation of local support and enthusiasm and with a wide variety of activities, including an excellent music and performance line up surpassing even last year’s line up we’re sure this year will be even better!” Andrew Gibb of the core organising team added: “This year we are committed to an even greener field during the festival. We realised after last year that we could do even more to be environmentally responsible and this will be reflected on the field this year with an exciting and different look than previous editions. We’re looking forward to this year’s festival immensely!”

Key dates:

Friday September 11^th: Festival Launch at St Bridget’s Church, West Kirby from 7pm. Tickets £6 (£4 concessions/unwaged)

Saturday September 12^th: Wirral Earth Fest at St Bridget's Church and Fields from 11am to 5pm. (Free entry.)