Basingstoke’s free summer outdoor arts festival has won an award from Tourism South East against tough competition.

Basingstoke Festival, a free family-friendly programme of summer events, won bronze in the Tourism Event/Festival of the Year Award at the Beautiful South Award ceremony this week.

Run by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council in partnership with local and national artists and organisations, Basingstoke Festival has been running for 13 years and encourages residents and visitors to explore arts and culture through music, dance, visual art and street theatre performances.

The Beautiful South Awards celebrate the best of tourism and hospitality across south east England, with the festival facing competition from events held in Chichester, Romsey, Ardingly and Newport on the Isle of Wight.

The Tourism Event/Festival of the Year Award recognises organisers of memorable and immersive tourism events and festivals that contribute to the visitor economy.

Cabinet Member for Sports, Leisure and Culture Cllr Kerry Morrow said: “Every year Basingstoke Festival showcases the best local and national artists and champions work created specifically for new audiences. I’m delighted that the efforts of the team and volunteers, who work so hard to make it a success, have been recognised with this award.

“The festival provides a great opportunity for residents and visitors to explore something new, with music, dance, visual art and street theatre performances. Our vibrant arts and culture offer is part of what makes Basingstoke and Deane a great place to live, work and visit and we are already busy planning a fantastic festival for everyone to enjoy in 2025.”

Organisations from elsewhere in the borough were also celebrating multiple wins at the awards. Whitchurch Silk Mill won gold in their category for Café/tea room of the Year and a bronze award for Small Attraction. Oakley Hall Hotel won gold for Wedding Venue of the Year and a bronze for Large Hotel of the Year and their Glasshouse restaurant scooped bronze for Restaurant of the Year.

Cllr Morrow continued: “Congratulations to Whitchurch Silk Mill and Oakley Hall for their successes at the awards. It shows that our local business owners and attractions take pride in what they do and offer an excellent experience to visitors.”

Basingstoke Festival will return in summer 2025 with more original performances across dance, music, street theatre and visual arts.

December 2024

Basingstoke Festival is a partner in Without Walls, a network of over 35 organisations that brings the best in innovative outdoor arts to towns and cities across England. Since its formation in 2007, Without Walls has developed and toured over 200 new shows both in the UK and internationally across 22 countries.

Without Walls commission outdoor shows of the highest quality that push the boundaries of what outdoor arts can be. Each year, the network presents a programme of new work. The network supports artists that have been working within the outdoor arts sector for many years, as well artists creating outdoor work for the first time.  The network also provides financial support for the research and development of new work, as well as professional and creative development opportunities.

The Without Walls programme tours across the network nationally and internationally, contributing to England’s position as a global leader in outdoor arts. Many of the partners work in areas of low arts engagement and pioneer new forms of creative engagement with and for their communities. From the East End of London to the countryside of rural Cheshire and to Basingstoke in Hampshire – Without Walls’ shows reach audiences far and wide.

Without Walls is funded by Arts Council England as a National Portfolio Organisation. Find out more at https://withoutwalls.uk.com/  

As in previous year’s Basingstoke Festival is packed with street theatre, circus, dance, storytelling and music from talented local artists and national acts who have performed across the globe and are stopping in Basingstoke and Deane before heading off on their next international escapade.  The festival has always championed new work that is created with local audiences in mind.

Without Walls has helped bring three shows to Basingstoke Festival in 2024:

• TIMELESS from Joli Vyann

Joli Vyann uses its unique and dynamic style of dance, circus and theatre on a seven-metre-high rotating hourglass to tell the story of civilisation as we know it and its fragile relationship with time and nature. The performance moves through a narrative of climate change, its consequences and the larger question of how humanity copes with the precarious balance that could at any point tip into chaos. Four performers dance, leap, gracefully balance and throw themselves with acrobatic prowess around, on and inside the rotating hourglass.

Catch this show on:
Saturday 22 June and Sunday 23 June in Eastrop Park.

• TEABREAK from Trigger

Catch your breath and enjoy a free, freshly made brew in this heart-warming show by Trigger.

Have a well-deserved TEABREAK and as you stir your cup, gently glide through an audio journey of tea and how it has found itself into our tea pots. Tea leaves have journeyed across continents and centuries to take its place as the great comforter of our time. With tea served from Trigger’s beautifully hand painted tuk tuk, this gentle performance brings an uplifting moment of pause. Uniting people across the world and throughout our lives, inviting us to rest, appreciate all that we have, honour moments that have passed and ready ourselves for what is to come.

Catch this show:

Saturday 29 June – Cross Street, Basingstoke
Sunday 30 June – Whitchurch Silk Mill, Whitchurch

• SERVING SOUNDS from Working Boys Club

Serving Sounds is a multi-sensory sound installation that creates connection through music – a bar that serves bass rather than beer. The installation is an interactive work, playful and joyful.

You’ll find the ordinary items you’d usually expect to find such as glasses, a lemon and the odd bit of change but at this bar these items, when touched, will create a groove, a sound, strings, a snare, maybe a guitar, or synths if you like.

Catch this show on:

Saturday 6 July – Winchester Street, Basingstoke
Sunday 7 July – Penwood, Hampshire

Don’t miss these fantastic performances as part of our packed Festival programme across three weekends from Friday 21 June to Sunday 7 July 2024. Head to the website to start planning your weekends at www.BasingstokeFestival.co.uk.

Notes:

Basingstoke Festival is produced by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and supported through lottery funding from Arts Council England.  The festival is in partnership with Village Hotel Basingstoke and Festival Place. 

Without Walls is supported by Arts Council England as a National Portfolio Organisation. Find out more: withoutwalls.uk.com.