New Winsford festival to celebrate the arts

Aug 13 2009 by Dave Goodban, Chester Chronicle

A NEW festival celebrating music and the arts is aiming to put Cheshire on the cultural map this weekend.

The first ever Summer in the Suburbs festival is being lunched at De Bees Music Bar and the Red Lion pub in Winsford from Friday to Sunday.

The festival is being run by social enterprise company The Hive, and is aiming to prove that great music and art can come from outside major cities, such as Manchester and Liverpool.

Three days of entertainment will kick off with Blue Juice Big Band performing at De Bees from 7pm –with a selection of local singers from across Mid-Cheshire, including Krystal and Mark Curzon, and young singers such as Will Garner joining them on stage.

Saturday will see a performance of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in the grounds of the Red Lion pub from 2pm. The show will be led by Winsford-based The Really Short Theatre Company director Richard Ellis, with local professional and amateur artists taking part.

The performance will be followed by an acoustic music evening at the pub, with around 12 acts taking to the stage from 4pm.

The festival will close with an all-day music show at De Bees on Sunday, with a huge array of local bands performing on stages, both inside and out.