An unusual arts festival that celebrates the rich history of the UK’s most intact city walls has been unveiled in Chester. Chester Performs, the organisation overseeing the development of the city’s new performing arts centre, due to open in 2011, has launched the event due to take place on the City Walls at twilight on Friday and Saturday November 9 and 10 2007.
Billed by the organisation as a 'happening', the event, called Up The Wall, is a trail celebrating the city’s famous feature in light, sound and theatre. The route leads from the cathedral to Northgate and back again and also features entertainment on Town Hall Square.
Along the way ‘promenaders’ will experience a range of sonic and light art, actors, musicians, street performers and performance artists. Young people, communities and professional artists are preparing to perform at the event, whilst Chester Performs is running intensive half-term production courses to support them where needed.
“We are keen to celebrate the city’s architectural heritage and history,” said Amber Jones, the project administrator. “There is something very European about lighting and re-interpreting city walls and we believe that we can build interest in getting communities both here and on the Continent involved, making this part of a longer term exchange.”
The most complete circuit of city walls in Britain, Chester's City Walls form virtually a complete 2 mile (3 km) circuit around the city centre and provide a handy route for seeing many of the city's key heritage sites. The walls originally date to Roman times and include sections dating to the Anglo Saxon and medieval periods together with parts relating to the English Civil War and Georgian era.
The intention is to trial the event which could then lead to an annual 'happening' on the walls; taking in features such as the cathedral and Roman Gardens, as well as inviting other walled cities across Europe to contribute.
The family friendly event is timed to encourage children to walk the walls with adults. The route itself is pushchair friendly and is free to attend between 4pm and 7pm on the Friday and Saturday. There will also be singers and street performers on Town Hall Square as well as refreshments.
Chester Performs is also looking for artists interested in getting involved to come forward and contribute. Contributors will have expenses paid for their presentations and there are a small number of bursaries available, which are worth £200. www.24hourmuseum.org.uk
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