St Monans celebrates tenth anniversary of Community Arts Festival
St Monans Community Arts Festival
founded 2009
In 2009, a group of local people got together and decided to organise an arts festival in St Monans – but unlike other festivals, the St Monans festival was to be built around the talented people living in or with strong connections to the village of St Monans …
“Ten years later, we are still, first and foremost, a community festival, with local artists, local craftspeople and local musicians being at the heart of our programme, and while we are keen for people from far and wide to come and join us, we never lose sight of our aim to make the festival one that has something for everyone in our village, with all events being free to attend, to ensure that it is a truly community arts festival.”
Festival chairperson Ruth Craib, launching the 2019 programme.
This year’s festival poster features a mural painting created by local primary children that now hangs in the Church Hall. Festival secretary Helen Marshall explained:
“The painting shows the village with its iconic Auld Kirk, and the sea with fishing boats in the foreground. As the village’s motto says, ‘We live by the sea’, and we feel that the children’s painting sums this up and emphasises the community spirit of our arts festival.”
The programme for the 2019 festival has now been published, and is available on the village website – stmonans.org.uk – with links to more information and event listings on Facebook. There are lots of events that will appeal to a wide range of interests and ages:
- fun activities for children and adults with glass and stone painting, pottery and jewellery making, giant bubble blowing, a theatre workshop that has an undersea theme (8+), and diabolo and kendama skills with the internationally famous and award winning Donald Grant (11+);
- art workshops with well-known artists such as George Birrell and Susan Forsyth; a talk about artists’ collaboration by Barbara Rowell; a writing workshop with Jayne Wilding, and history walks through the village led by Alison Ogilvie;
- lots of music with a Saturday night extravaganza in the Town Hall featuring the Billy Anderson Ceilidh Band and lots of local musicians; a hands-on World Music Session, with a range of musical instruments to try; a concert by the Community Choir featuring Glas Duo and the West Voices choir from Germany; and impromptu music events around the village;
- throughout the weekend, art and photographic exhibitions, stalls offering a diverse range of crafts, and a festival café in the church hall, along with open studio exhibitions around the village. The photographic exhibition will feature the winners and runners up in the fifth annual competition for photographs of St Monans and the surrounding area.
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