Hundreds of children, young people and families enjoyed a packed programme of creative activities, performances and workshops at the second Nantwich Youth Arts Festival.
The two-day event aims to inspire children and young people to experience creative arts, on the belief that opportunities to enjoy and participate in the arts should be accessible to everyone.
This year’s programme featured activities including process drama, junk modelling, acting for television and film, special effects make-up, clay modelling and creative crafts.
New family sessions proved popular with children, parents and grandparents enjoying a chance to create together throughout the weekend.
The festival welcomed exciting new performers, including the Lowe Ensemble, who gave a captivating performance of Spanish Baroque music at St Mary’s Church on Saturday evening.
The five siblings, who have British and Spanish roots, enchanted the audience with their musicianship.
On Sunday, Nantwich Civic Hall was buzzing as families enjoyed clay modelling, invisible art and colourful Spanish-inspired paper flower making.
AJ and Curtis Pritchard delighted the audience by leading lively salsa and cha-cha dance workshops before talented young dancers from the Pritchard School of Dancing showcased their skills.
The afternoon celebrated the wealth of young musical talent with more than 200 local musicians performing as part of Music For Life’s rock groups and the inaugural MFL Community Orchestra.
The Music For Life rock band, whose members have only been playing together for just eight months, impressed the audience with performances including Zombie by The Cranberries and Days Like These by Foo Fighters.
And it ended with a debut performance of the MFL Community Orchestra, bringing together musicians from across Nantwich to perform a specially commissioned piece written especially for the event.
The festival concluded with an outdoor screening of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again in Brookfield Park, where hundreds of residents gathered to enjoy a warm summer evening together.
Mayor of Nantwich Cllr Kim Jamson and Deputy Mayor Cllr John Priest organised the festival, supported by Councillors Karling, O’Hara, Smith and Charbonneau.
They paid tribute to Nantwich Town Council staff who helped make the festival possible.
Cllr Priest said: “When the Community Orchestra played together, they literally took the roof of the Civic off.
“Music has a remarkable ability to bring people together, regardless of age or experience.
“To sit in the Community Orchestra alongside local musicians and hear everyone playing together was a genuinely special moment.
“It perfectly captured what this Festival is all about – giving people the confidence to take part, to be creative and to share something extraordinary with their community.”
Mayor Cllr Jamson added: “One of the most rewarding parts of the weekend was seeing children and young people from every background enjoying the arts together.
“Watching families creating side by side, grandparents joining in with activities, young musicians performing with such confidence and so many people coming together reminded us exactly why we started the festival.
“We believe the arts should be for everyone, not just those who can afford them, and it has been wonderful to see that vision come to life across Nantwich once again.
“The festival is about much more than performances and workshops. It’s about bringing people together, building confidence, celebrating creativity and showing every child and young person that the arts belong to them too.
“Seeing our community come together in this way has been incredibly special.”
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