The opening weekend of this year’s Prescot Festival was a journey into the past.
The arts festival commenced on Friday with a look at over a century of Prescot life, caught on celluloid.
The free, 30-minute film began with a 1914 newsreel of the South Lancashire Regiment setting off from Prescot Station, then continued with fascinating footage from the 1930s, before zooming ahead to the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s, ending with a soaring, present-day view of the town centre from above.
Day 2 gave an opportunity to discover the town on the Prescot Heritage Trail. Eager explorers downloaded the free map from the festival website, along with a series of tantalising clues to solve on the way.
Highlights of the 10-day programme include Tuesday 22 June’s exclusive video chat with Laura Collier and Ian Tabbron of Shakespeare North Playhouse—a glimpse into Prescot’s future, and a flavour of what to expect when the long-anticipated theatre opens in 2022.
The final weekend features online performances from children all over Merseyside, courtesy of the Liverpool Cathedral Festival of Music, a ‘Prescot Prayer Journey’ and an invitation to join the congregation of Prescot Parish Church—in person or online—for a Sung Eucharist. Music will include artistic director Robert Howard’s own choral setting of Ave verum corpus and the Finale from Guilmant’s First Organ Sonata.
‘With the arts and music scene still in flux, it required some ingenuity to provide the full festival this year,’ said Robert, ‘but we’re delighted to have been able to involve so many people from the community in putting together an entertaining and inspiring programme in “hybrid” form.’
The 17th Annual Prescot Festival of Music & the Arts runs until Sunday 27 June. Audiences can catch up with online events they missed and keep up-to-date with the rest of the programme at www.prescotfestival.co.uk.
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