The inaugural Festival of Firsts is coming to Hoylake over three days early next month.
Originally an idea by poet and former Scaffold member John Gorman (pictured) to use Hoylake’s
mile-long promenade to stage a lively summer arts festival. Now, The Wirral Festival of Firsts is gathering serious momentum.
With a £5,000 kick-start from Wirral Council’s Coastal Regeneration Fund, and the enthusiastic backing of personalities Mike McCartney and Billy Butler, we’re all set for a prime weekend that will bring in thousands of visitors and really show off Hoylake’s talents.
The Festival is essentially, three days of music, art, poetry and theatre over the weekend 8th-10th July (to be repeated, in Oxton, on the 15th-17th July).
MUSIC PROM (Saturday 9th July) stages Wirral’s first ever Proms. All varieties of music, from pop, rock, folk and choirs to orchestral concerts will be on show in a number of venues throughout the town, plus there’ll be some fun music workshops for children and families. Just take a look at the number of artists in the line-up!
ART PROM will see the World’s Biggest Art Exhibition (Sunday 10th July) displayed along Hoylake Promenade with an ArtTrail from Meols Station to Hoylake Station (artists to register in advance). Gallery Hoylake aims to turn the entire town into an art gallery, with local shops and businesses invited to display works of art during the week before and after the festival itself. You’ll also find artists travelling on public transport with pieces of art, with Art on the Move in the run-up to the Festival.
POETRY PROM (Sunday 10th July) is the world’s first Poetry Prom. A unique event, where every suitable space will feature live poetry readings. In addition, a national Poetry Competition is open to all with the winner announced on Poetry Prom day (The Poetry Competition closed for entries on June 11th).
THEATRE PROM brings world premieres of two plays and a musical to Hoylake, and incorporates Wirral’s first Shakespeare Season (throughout the summer). Local and touring productions will take part.
You can read more about the festival over on the official website and if you’re a member there’s a facebook page that you can ‘Like’.
Here’s a pdf document of the main schedule and here’s a map (pdf) of events around Hoylake.
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