Celebration of arts as hundreds flock to festival
A WEEK-LONG celebration of the arts drew in hordes of visitors at an annual festival in Chapel Allerton.
Spanning a full seven days, the Chapel Allerton Arts Festival 2018 kicked off last Monday.
It featured a range of artsthemed activities and workshops from Monday to Friday, as part of a packed programme of events staged at venues in the area.
The festivities ramped up at the end of the week for the main attraction, as hundreds of people turned out on Friday, Saturday and Sunday for live music in Regent Street.
Bob Ward, member of the festival’s organising committee, said: “It has been absolutely brilliant.
“The success of our festival is very much weather dependant and two years ago we were rained off.
“But this year has been the best ever, the sun came out and more crowds kept coming.
“Everyone had a wonderful time.”
Acts who performed included Little Mistakes, Electrocity and Roundhay Ukelele Group.
Stalls lined the street serving up a variety of food offerings for visitors - from nearby Sukhothai’s authentic Thai cuisine, to local curry caterers and German bratwurst hotdogs.
A team of stewards also volunteered their time to ensure the event ran smoothly across the busy weekend.
Mr Ward said that, as part of the committee’s long-standing green initiatives, more than 350 kilos of plastic and aluminium waste from the event will this year be recycled. He added: “We must be one of the greenest festivals in the world.
“There were lots of stalls and cultural events and it has been breathtaking.”
Mr Ward also organised a classic car show on Sunday. The festival, where many of the events were free to attend, is backed by Arts Council England.
On Sunday, crowds also gathered again in Regent Street to sing with Churches Together for the 15th Festival Hymns in the Street, before jazz, blues and salsa performances took over.
It got underway on Bank Holiday Monday with a short film festival at the Seven Arts venue.
Throughout the week, cultural events included talks by authors, writing workshops, poetry readings, Ukulele sessions and a popular art hunt in Gledhow Valley Woods.