chris difford (Squeeze)

(Ivor Novello winner)......fresh back from touring the states with Crowded House......

Support from - Hope & Social (www.hopeandsocial.com)

live at the Bear Inn Alderwasley Sunday August 29th, tickets £15.00 - 01629822585. 

"cool for cats" - "tempted" - "up the junction" to name a few. 

make a night of it - rooms available at www.bear-hotel.com

All Friends of Waltham House are invited to call in for a drink and a chat on Tuesday 7th September between 6 pm and 8 pm. Catch up with what we have been doing since the launch of Friends in March 2010 - enjoy the beautiful planted pots, learn of our progress and perhaps even hear the singing group perform. Pimms (or juice) on the patio if weather is fine! if you are interested in becoming a Friend of Waltham House please come along to find out more, ring Humphrey on 01629 823585 or email boam@w3z.co.uk

Festival 2010 - from Friday 10th to Sunday 26th September

The leading rural festival for contemporary visual art & performance.

Great art in unusual places, and a performance programme to excite and entice.

The Art & Architecture Trail and Makers Market offer a great value family weekend for only £5 per adult (under 16s free) and a chance to buy art and crafts direct at the best possible prices.

We'll be updating the website, posting on Facebook, Tweeting and updating these pages as programme details come in. Meanwhile, make the Festival an unmissable date in YOUR diary.

(If you'd like to get involved, come and join the festival's team of volunteers - more help warmly welcomed).

Art & Architecture Trail and Makers Market weekend 11-12 September

Join us for our BIG opening weekend, when art takes over the town. The whole town becomes a gallery with over 100 artists and makers showing their work in private homes, historic buildings, gardens, shop windows and churches. A great chance to buy affordable art, meet the artists and have a peek inside some of Derbyshire’s most intriguing interiors!

With plenty of foodstalls, cafes and pubs to relax in and a programme of street entertainment throughout town, Wirksworth offers a brilliant weekend out for the whole family only £5 a ticket (under-16s free).

Wirksworth’s visual arts programme goes from strength to strength as we continue to explore the relationship between Art & Architecture, investigating the nature, meanings and uses of the town’s landscape. Highlights include:

Goh Ideta - new work by featured artist whose Cube Ring thrilled and intrigued last year’s Festival-goers.

A Pavilion for Wirksworth - artists and architects create a temporary structure for the town.

[Im]Possible Wirksworth: An inventory of unrealised ideas - an exhibition from architects, designers and artists, proposing exciting, radical new buildings and remodelling of Wirksworth.

Film Salon - artists' short film and video, with an architecture theme. Graduate Showcase - selected work by some of the region’s outstanding young art graduates.

18-19 September Guided Arts Walk and Artist Talks. Take a more relaxed walk around town and learn more about the artwork. The first Arts Focus weekend last year brought art lovers and artists together in a revolutionary move, to stroll around town together to the key gallery venues and site specific commissions and discuss the work on view under the guidance of the Festival’s curator. An unmissable opportunity for art students and art lovers of all ages!

26 September Wirksworth Festival closes with a gigantic Community Celebration

Colourful processions wind their way through the town to meet for a spectacular finale.

A magical evening event created and performed by Wirksworth’s creative community. Come along and join in as music, dance, performance and fire sculpture bring the Festival to a spectacular close.

Mantle Arts will be co-ordinating the work of local artists and community groups through the summer to develop work for this event. Everyone’s welcome to join in: families, groups, individuals – if you’d like to learn some new arty skills with the help of experienced artists, if you’d like to socialise and join in – then please contact matthew@mantlearts.org.uk or the Festival office and sign up for some fun.

Event to celebrate traditional and modern woodland crafts. There will be willow weaving, pole lathe turning, chainsaw carving, tree climbing, archery, songs and stories from the Wild Man of the Woods, lots of hands-on craft activities for children and horse and dray rides.

Boo has a long and established career as singer/songwriter, written for the likes of KD Lang, MelC and Eddie Reader. An evening of the uk's finest music and real ales.........need we say more!!