METAL and Thurrock Council are delighted to announce Village Beach – a brand new festival of culture for Thurrock celebrating the creativity, ingenuity, arts and music of the whole Borough.
Village Beach will take place on Saturday, 18 July from 11am until 8pm at Grays Beach Riverside Park on the banks of the River Thames.
With seven stages of music, spoken word, dance, performance and international circus cabaret; seven beach hut venues showcasing the best of Thurrock arts and heritage; a big bake competition; mad-cap games; a busking stage (anyone can turn up and have a go!) and much more to see and take part in, it promises to be a fun-packed day for all the family.
Entry to Village Beach is FREE with a programme of activities that will appeal to the whole family – from the age of two to eighty-two.
Artistic highlights include: –
Seven Beach Hut Venues, designed and painted by artists from across Thurrock, including Russell Brand, Scroobius Pip and two first year Royal Opera House apprentices in carpentry and scenic painting based at High House Production Park in Purfleet.
Inside some of the best of Thurrock culture will be presented by Thurrock Film Festival, Thurrock Museum, Thurrock Arts Council, the Royal Opera House costume collection and much more.
An exhibition by The Thames Group, 13 artists from across South Essex, who have responded in different ways to TS Eliot’s The Waste Land.
Pop Up Festival presents ‘Mice Up Da Place!’ with Michael De Souza, creator of CBeebies’ hugely popular Rastamouse show. Stories of the adventures of Rastamouse and Da Easy Crew are followed by workshops with a steel band and carnival artists. Create your own Mouseland character before embarking on a Mousetastic carnival parade around the festival site.
The Floriferocity Spectacular, a multi-sensory theatrical performance inspired by the Garden of Live Flowers in Lewis Carroll’s ‘Through the Looking Glass’. Flying in from India, the company comprises the Rajasthani Circus, Rajasthan Heritage Brass Band, and FIPA (Foundation for Indian Performing Arts) featuring stilt walkers, traditional village circus acrobats, musicians, composers, poets, directors and several acclaimed British artists. The Floriferocity project will also be working alongside local schools to make a variety of flowers and full blinging costumes with designer, Hervé Vita, to animate the performances at Village Beach.
Music highlights include:-
Shlomo, the internationally acclaimed beatboxer and world Loopstation Champion will headline the main stage with his Vocal Orchestra – a celebration of everyones favourite tunes using seven mouths, seven mics and no instruments; Stanford-le-hope based RE:VERB, winners of the prestigious STARMAKER 2014 competition, some of whom you may recognise from Britain’s Got Talent 2013 semi-final in the guise of Youth Creation. The hugely popular local, open mic night, Thames Delta, who will curate a stage bursting with local talent, including Tall Dark Friend, The Jumeau Twins, and Ren Stedman. Metal have partnered with South Essex College to work with students to present a Youth Stage, curated and managed by young people that will include performance, dance and music.
Colette Bailey, Artistic Director at Metal said, “We are delighted to be presenting such an eclectic mix of talent from across the borough of Thurrock and beyond. It has been great to meet so many artists, see their projects and work together to create what promises to be a really fantastic day”.
