Events // Wirral Earth Fest 2015 (11th & 12th September, West Kirby)
Wirral
Earth Fest returns on September 11th and 12th 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 11th:
Festival Launch at St Bridget’s Church, West Kirby from 7pm. Tickets £6 (£4
concessions/unwaged)
Saturday September 12th:
Wirral Earth Fest at St Bridget's Church and Fields from 11am to 5pm. (Free
entry.)
