New Brighton Arts Festival returns next week as part of Wirral’s Borough of Culture

As part of Wirral’s Borough of Culture, the New Brighton Arts Festival is returning for a jam-packed week of arts activities, events and celebrations. 

The New Brighton Arts Festival was created by Holy Family Catholic Multi Academy Trust’s C Change initiative which is one of eight Creativity Collaboratives in England and serves the North West. 

The week-long arts festival kicks off on Monday, 8 July, with Sing Wirral taking over the Floral Pavilion from 7pm for a night of musical magic. Community and school choirs from across the Wirral are set to unite for a spectacular celebration of song, with a vibrant and diverse soundtrack. 

On Tuesday at 7pm, the celebrations continue at Theatre Porto for ‘This is the Place’, an immersive theatre experience. The production has been developed by local primary school pupils and the Theatre Porto and utilises different forms of creative expression including movement, writing and music. 

Stand-up comedian and Liverpool’s world famous Hot Water Comedy Club resident, Phil Chapman will join the celebrations on Wednesday, 10 July to host the Comedy Night. Phil will be joined by headline act and fellow comedian, Sam Avery, and young people across the Wirral for an evening of laughter. The show starts at 7pm at the Oakland Gallery on Victoria Road. 

The Spoken Word Evening will take place at the Oakland Gallery on Thursday, 11 July, at 7pm, and will welcome accomplished writer and performer, Ashleigh Nugent. Local young people will be showcasing their writing skills alongside Ashley. 

The penultimate event will see the return of the hugely popular Friday Night Live. Students from across the Trust’s secondary schools, St John Plessington Catholic College and St Mary’s Catholic College, and other local Wirral secondary schools, are set to deliver a night of unforgettable music, alongside other local artists. 

The festivities culminate in the One Community Street Party, hosted on Saturday, 13 July. From 11am – 9pm, families can join the celebrations with something on offer to suit everyone. 

The free family fun day will be held on Victoria Road and features two live music stages, with legendary Liverpool rock band, Space, who took the charts by storm in the 90s headlining the event. The Liverpool-born foursome had hits with ‘Female of the Species’ and ‘The Ballad of Tom Jones’. 

There will also be a kids and creative zone, with a range of free activities available for children, and performances from the renowned Samba Livre Liverpool Brazilian Dancers, the Katumba Drummers, and Movema Dance who will be hosting live dance workshops. 

CEO of Holy Family Catholic Multi Academy Trust, Andy Moor, said: “We believe that creativity, community and culture are key to making a change in the lives of young people and are proud to launch our annual Arts Festival this year, bringing different generations together to celebrate the fantastic creative community we have here in New Brighton. 

“We are excited to bring a host of professional artists to New Brighton to help us grow our cultural opportunities in the area.”

More information on the New Brighton Arts Festival can be found on HFCMAT’s website here.

Find all the latest news on the Wirral here.