Weston Arts + Health Festival to celebrate fifth edition

This year’s theme, ‘Take Five’, celebrates the value of taking time within your day to do something enjoyable, and the Festival Hub is a great place to start, with free tea on tap throughout the weekend.

The festival programme has a running tea party theme, with plenty of opportunities for people to come together in shared activity, also highlighting the many and varied community organisations which underpin Weston’s creative offer year-round.

Frances Macadam, head of Arts Programme for University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW), said: “We are delighted, once again, to be partnering with Super Culture on the Weston Arts + Health Festival.

“Starting with an uplifting programme for staff and patients at the hospital, including tea parties on our Older People wards.

“We then focus on our connection to the town and wider community with lots to enjoy on the beach.

“The Festival programme focuses on the Five Ways to Wellbeing which are a set of evidence-based actions to improve personal wellbeing: connect, be active, learn new skills, give to others, take notice.

“We hope you find something in the programme that fills your cup.”

In the run-up to the festival, Cream Teas across community venues in Weston’s South Ward are being held to pre-promote the programme to the local community.

Also whetting appetites for the weekend is an online poetry Speakeasy on Thursday, July 11, featuring poets who are UHBW Staff, alongside guest poet Deb Alma, founder of the acclaimed Poetry Pharmacy bookshop.

Here are a few events you can look forward to:

Friday, July 12, 7.30pm - Friday Night Sounds on the Sands, an evening of standout music and poetry from some of the Hospital’s Creatives in Residence, moonlighting al fresco.

House of Figs share their unique blend of poetic warmth and wit that last year delighted festival audiences at Womad and Shambala; singer Roland Harrad amazes with his vocal versatility that springs from hip-hop to opera; and Apple of My Eye’s irresistible folk ballads are likely to get you on your feet dancing.

All weekend - a range of creative activities are at the Festival Hub across both days (10am-2pm Saturday, 11am-3pm Sunday), presented by some of the fantastic groups who have regular creative participation offers in the town.

Choose from vintage tea cup planting with Friends of Grove Park, Me Old China community mosaic with Create Together, slow stitching and weaving with UHBW Visual Artist in Residence, and much more besides.

(Image: Paul Blakemore)

Saturday, July 13 - the early bird catches the worm with a 7am Bird Walk along the beach, led by Chris Sperring MBE (BBC Radio 4, Autumnwatch), whose soaring knowledge of birds will lend a whole new perspective to your understanding of the coastline.

There’s more walking at 11am with a Nature Connection Walk led by the team from the Mendip Hills National Landscape, encouraging us to take time to find special moments in nature.

Meanwhile, Little People, Big Feelings storytime creates a gentle space back at the Hub at 10.30am.

Then, at Noon, Samir Savant, Director at St George’s Hall, Bristol, invites us to find out the benefits of singing with a talk and maybe a little singing.

You are then invited to breathe deeply and book onto a Mindfulness Walk at 2pm.

The Posh Club take up residence from 3pm-5pm (dress code: Posh), bringing to the beach their glamorous performance and social club for older people that has become a national phenomenon.

The Posh Club’s irresistible events are styled as tongue-in-cheek ‘posh’ 1940’s afternoon tea with live cabaret turns, volunteer waiters in black tie, and vintage crockery.

A photo from the Posh Club at one of the previous edition of the festival (Image: Contributed)

Social connectivity and inter-generational volunteering are encouraged in the most splendid of fashions, with warmth, frills, and frolics at the heart of the experience.

This event is free, for the over 60s and must be pre-booked. Although people of all ages are welcome to walk up and enjoy the show standing from the sidelines.

Sunday, July 14 gets off to an active start at 9.30am with an Acrobatics and Circus workshop with European Collective ConTakt who return later that day with their high octane Circus Show, FOLEY, exploring the power of playfully connecting with others to build trust and new possibilities.

Tall towers, high throws and live music combine to create true spectacle.

There are more opportunities to join two different walking offers on Sunday with a Health Walk at 10am, and for those who wish to exercise vocal chords as well as leg muscles, a Singing Walk at 12pm led by acclaimed singer-songwriter Racheal Dadd, with Julia Turner.

At 12.30pm, LGBTQI+ performance artist Tom Marshman invites you to join his alternative Sunday Lunch, a Hidden Histories Tea Party.

Share your experiences of forgotten histories either as a result of Section 28 or your own lived silenced period, alongside bite-sized slices of cake and performance, flowing tea and conversation.

Energy levels are raised again at 2pm on the Promenade with The Original Spinners who use music, movement, creativity and play to enable joyful experiences for those in hospital settings and beyond.