The borough’s biggest arts festival is less than a month away!
And this year the programme is going to be packed with events for children and families to encourage even more residents to attend.
HF ArtsFest, supported by Hammersmith & Fulham Council, will run from 6-12 June and its chair Petrea Owens said that, not only will it be the biggest so far, there will also be more events for young people than ever before.
“It’s about broadening the festival to appeal to a wider range of the community,” said Petrea, who was previously the general manager of Hammersmith-based Albert and Friends Instant Circus. She is also a senior partner at Circus Arts Education and has more than 32 years’ experience of running charities and small arts organisations.
“Young people are the artists and audiences of the future,” she added.
“We all need arts in all its forms throughout our lives to help us become whole people. They’re as important to a child’s development as reading, writing and arithmetic. It’s all about life skills, we learn these through the arts.”
With that in mind, Petrea has picked some of her favourite festival events for young people and families:
- Create your own animation at Escape Studios: Europe’s leading visual effects academy will be running an animation taster day at their state of the art studios for ages 13 and up. You will be able to learn the techniques used by award-winning animation artists. Rockley Road, Shepherds Bush from 9am to 5pm on 9 June. Cost: £5.
- Plein Air in Parsons Green – a workshop with award winning artist Adebanji Alade: Children and adults of all ages and abilities are invited to join Abebanji to paint and learn new artistic skills in the open air. Run by the Society of Fulham Artists and Potters. Parsons Green from 10am to 4pm on 9 June. Cost: £5/free for members.
- Fulham Music Showcase: A chance to hear some of the best music the borough has to offer all in one place. Fulham & Hammersmith Choral Society, Fulham Camerata, Fulham Children’s Choir, Fulham Opera, Fulham Symphony Orchestra and Music’all will all be performing, giving the audience the chance to enjoy a great variety of music all in one place. St John’s Church, North End Road, Fulham, from 12pm to 4pm on Saturday 11 June. Cost: Free.
- Picnic in the Park to celebrate The Queen’s 90th: The family event will feature performances by Albert & Friends Instant Circus, an interactive workshop for all ages by Amici Dance Theatre Company and a performance by Cat and Hutch Children’s Theatre. There will also be plenty of games for the whole family. Ravenscourt Park, Paddenswick Road, Hammersmith from 12.30pm to 5pm on 12 June. Cost: Free.
These are just some of more than 130 events being held by about 400 artists across H&F during the week-long festival, which is sponsored by St George.
“We know the excitement for HF ArtsFest is building and it’s great to see so much family fun planned among the activities for all ages,” said Cllr Andrew Jones, H&F Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Regeneration.
“This event just gets bigger and better every year and we’re delighted to be continuing to support such a fantastic festival.”
The HF ArtsFest team will be publishing their programme in booklet from soon but until then you can see all the planned events at their HF ArtsFest website.
