Making a splash all along the Wye Valley, with a programme of fabulous, free, family entertainment, The Wye Valley River Festival runs from April 29th to May 15th.

The full programme has just been launched and it features an amazingly creative partnership of actors, singers, musicians and dancers, bringing to life the central narrative and sweeping downstream creating magic, mayhem and laughter. Under the artistic directorship of Desperate Men, one of the UK’s most versatile and inventive outdoor arts companies, the festival brings together And Now, working with people, fire structures, sound and light; Mr & Mrs Clarke, whose creative, interactive performance pieces for festivals and touring productions have taken them all over the world; Tim Hill, a musician, performer and creator of outdoor shows drawing on the traditions of circus, village and street bands; the Lydbrook Band; the George Choir from Newnham and many more besides. There will be performances by the specially-formed Wye Valley Festival Choir which has been meeting in Ross-on-Wye, Llandogo and Monmouth, led by Helen Vincent from Singplicity, to rehearse songs about water and rivers from a variety of genres.

Celebrating the River Wye and its connections to rivers and people around the world, the biennial Wye Valley River Festival is led by the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) unit collaborating with local communities. The first festival in 2014 attracted audiences of around 20,000, making a significant contribution to the local economy. This year organisers have their sights set on topping that, setting things on the way to developing 2018’s third festival into an even larger and more nationally and internationally-recognised event.

The crowd-pleasing programme includes fire and flame, music, choirs, shows and performances, starting with a “wow” in Hereford on April 29 (7.30pm-9.45pm) and culminating at Chepstow Racecourse on May 15 with a fabulous finale.

A travelling performance and activity space, the Wye Serai, is created around three intriguing caravans: The Caravan of Myths and Legends; The Caravan of Fact and Wonder and The Caravan of Curiosities and Hydrosities. There’s also a comic River Health Check Laboratory and river characters, the Water Ones, wrangling in a comic chaos of pouring and spilling, singing and dancing.

At the heart of the Wye Serai is the Giant Samovar, dispensing tea in a time-honoured symbol of hospitality. Traditionally used to heat and boil water for tea, a Samovar (loosely translated from the Russian as self-boiler) would take pride of place at the table at times of festivity and celebration. Designed by And Now especially for The Wye Valley River Festival, the pure copper, celebratory Samavor has been built by one of the leading moonshine still makers in Arkansas, USA, using traditional copper working skills.

The Wye Serai makes its first appearance from 10am to 6pm on April 30th, alongside Hereford River Carnival, which promises a full day of family entertainment with street processions, amazing puppet creations, water rituals and aqua play, music, dance, food and drink. The fun starts at 10am and lasts until 6pm, ending with a colourful flotilla of craft on the Wye.

The action takes place on Castle Green, Bishop’s Meadow, Left Bank and along the city’s historic streets.

 

Festival fun then visits Ross-on-Wye (May 1st, 11am to 5pm ) and on Bank Holiday Monday, May 2nd there’s a ceremonial canoe launch at Bishopswood with festival flags carried down to Lydbrook Tump, where entertainment lasts from noon to 5pm.

During the festival there are opportunities to see two amazing arts installations, created with help from the local community. Musician, composer and audio-visual artist Dan Fox will be out collecting the voices of local children and adults, stories, animal noises, birdsong and sounds of the river to bring the “voices of the Valley” to his audio visual installation, Cymbals of Redbrook, on the Gloucestershire village’s disused railway bridge that spans the River Wye between England and Wales. The installation can be experienced from May 2 to 8 (12noon to 10pm) and includes an avenue of cymbals suspended from tall poles across the bridge. At night the installation comes alive with LED lighting synchronised with the audio.

In local schools, their own homes and at six workshops held throughout the area between February and April, members of riverside communities have been making hundreds of Origami birds to help Kathy Hinde’s astounding installation, One Thousand Birds, take flight at Tintern Old Station. This will be accompanied by immersive sound composed by Matthew Fairclough. It will be staged at Tintern Old Station at the same time as internationally renowned artist, Kathy Hinde’s new project, Luminous Birds (May 6-15). As night falls, hundreds of origami-style birds will come alive with synchronised lighting sequences creating the effect of birds in flight. The project was first commissioned by Kidderminster Arts Festival 2015 in partnership with Cryptic.

On May 6th the Wye Serai visits Tintern Old Station for the opening of Luminous Birds. Festivities last from 11am to 10pm, with the full Wye Serai in attendance from 6.30pm. The ceremonial launch is at 7pm, followed by a performance by the George Choir. ?

River characters visit Monmouth town centre to perform on Friday, May 6th (12noon to 4pm), whilst The A&E River Health Check Laboratory will be in Blestium Street and the Caravan of Fact and Wonder will be outside Shire Hall. Saturday May 7th brings the chance to see three outdoor arts commissions by Articulture on the streets of the town, plus buskers and river characters. The Wye Serai will be encamped on Vauxhall Fields (12noon to 10.15pm) and there will be a spectacular show there in the evening.

From 11am to 5pm on Sunday May 8th at The Slaughters, below Symonds Yat Rock, across the river from the Biblins campsite, there’s a special mini Serai and a magical woodland walk: Listen to the Sap Rising and Hear the Earth Move. The conference The Art of Sustainability: Rivers, Local meets Global takes place at Wye Valley Sculpture Garden, Tintern on Friday May 13th from 6pm to 8pm when there will be a live link to Brazil, and Professor Henrique Chaves in conversation with Simon Evans from the Wye and Usk Foundation (booking required).

The Wye Serai visits Llandogo on Saturday May 14th (12.30pm to 10.30pm). There will be theatre, music and food and towards evening, torch bearers and musicians will converge at the river’s edge and fantastic illuminations will light the riverside as choirs join with The Water Ones to bless the waters of the Wye.

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Meanwhile from May 4th to 6th and 11th to 13th, the River Festival Caravans will be heading out into the countryside to seek out folk who want to unravel the mysteries of the Wye’s water. They will create mini happenings at small communities and schools.

Walkers and wordsmiths have also been collaborating in a unique strolling and storytelling project especially for the Festival, working with Forest of Dean storyteller and community arts worker Roger Drury to create fascinating, animated short walks.

Bringing all these varied activities to a crescendo, the grand finale on Sunday May 15th at Chepstow Racecourse (2pm to 10.30pm) includes interactive games; a Beast Feast; an evening performance of the Wye Serai; a river shaped fire sculpture, lanterns in the woods; water stories and the final servings from the Samovar.

The Wye Valley River Festival 2016 is a Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Partnership initiative with funding from the Sustainable Development Fund, a Welsh Government Initiative in the Wye Valley AONB, The Arts Council England, Arts Council of Wales, supported by the Welsh Government and the Heritage Lottery Fund, Big Lottery, Environment Agency, Ernest Cook Trust, Forestry Commission England, New Grove Trust, Hereford River Carnival, Ross Town Council and in-kind support from The Shire Hall, Monmouth, numerous volunteers & local communities. It is sponsored by Eat Sleep Live Herefordshire, who also sponsored the Festival’s promotion at The British Travel and Tourism Show; media sponsors Sunshine Radio and Live 24-Seven; Forest of Dean and Wye Valley Tourism Association and Old Station, Tintern. The Caravan of Myths and Legends is sponsored by Puzzlewood and the Caravan of Curiosities and Hydrosities is sponsored by Monnow Voice.

For more information visit www.wyevalleyaonb.org.uk; Twitter: @wyebeauty #wyevalleyriverfestival; Facebook: www.facebook.com/ wyevalleyriverfestival