Festival gets ready for lift-off!
ROCKET SCIENCE, CRIMINAL ANCESTORS AND MIRACLE BREWS AMONG HIGHLIGHTS
Ashbourne Festival organiser TIM CHALLANS returns with more news of some of the expert speakers that will be putting on shows during this year’s summer festival
LAST week I told you about the talks by Keith Brymer Jones and Adam Henson; tickets are selling quickly for these events so do not forgot to book as soon as possible.
We have other fascinating talks at this year’s festival, including two events from the National Space Centre.
“It is Rocket Science” is quite literally an explosive show, exploring the exciting history of rockets from the colourful fireworks of ancient times to the mighty space-exploring rockets of today.
Bring the family and join scientists from the National Space Centre to investigate the fiery power of rocket fuel, the explosive forces and much more.
This is a live interactive science show suitable for adults and children alike and is in Ashbourne Town Hall at 6.30pm and 7.30pm on June 27.
On July 2 you can also experience a tour of the night sky in the Stardome, the National Space Centre mobile planetarium.
It recreates a dark night sky with hundreds of brilliant points of light splashed across the inside of the dome.
The stars are projected into their positions for any time of the year and illustrates the various constellations. It’s a show for adults and young people of all ages and takes place throughout the day. Numbers to each showing are limited, so book early.
On June 29, Dr Michala Hulme will help us trace our criminal ancestors (perhaps we all have them) in her talk Bigamists, B**tards and Bandits.
“True Crime Stories” meets “Who Do You Think You Are?” as Michala Hulme explains how she uses census and genealogical material to track down Victorian criminals, and how you can do it yourself.
This promises to be both informative and highly entertaining. Michala Hulme specialises in 19th Century history and makes frequent appearances as an expert on radio and television history programmes.
“Miracle Brew” is acclaimed beer writer Pete Brown’s story of the natural history of beer, one of the world’s most popular drinks, yet one we know little about.
Called the “beer drinkers’ Bill Bryson”, Pete is an excellent writer and speaker with a wealth of knowledge.
He will be taking us through the story of beer alongside tastings of beers from the wonderful Thornbridge Brewery.
If you enjoy beer, you will love this. Pete is at Ashbourne Town Hall on June 30.
Details of all these and other events are in the Ashbourne Festival brochure, on posters around the area, on the festival website, social media and in more articles coming soon.
Tickets are on sale for many of these events and full information and links to buy tickets are on the festival website at www.ashbournefestival.org