Joyful day with arts and plenty of uplift
Maidenhead: Large crowds flock to Norden Farm’s Kite Festival
Thousands of people descended on Punt Hill at the weekend for the return of Norden Farm’s most popular annual events.
Boyn Grove Park played host to the art venue’s Kite Festival on Sunday, which saw more than
2,000 visitors take their handmade kite creations to the skies.
The free event ‘brought all ages together’ and there was also music and dance performances to add to the atmosphere on the day.
Drummers from The Dhol Collective opened the festival before performing later with dancers to traditional Panjabi folk rhythms fused with popular modern music.
Meanwhile, theatre company A Bird in the Hand promenaded around the park with an impressive display of silk swallow kite puppets.
Dancers from world dance company Movema enthralled the audience with performers dressed as symbolic birds including a peacock and phoenix.
Acoustic duo Tomorrow Bird – made up of Jen Bird and Simon Driscoll – also performed a live folk and country set on-stage, while an array of food stalls kept festival-goers’ hunger at bay.
Norden Farm chief executive Jane Corry said: “The Kite Festival was such a joyful, uplifting event. We’re all still on an absolute high from it.
“It was so wonderful to see so many Maidonians flying kites, and having fun together, it truly brought the community together
“People may not know that the project actually started months before, with kite-making workshops for schools and children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
“We are so grateful to the trusts and foundations that supported the financing of this. These include The Spoore Merry and Rixman Foundation, Berkshire Community Trust and the Cyril Taylor Foundation, together with donations on the day from attenders.”
Jane added: “We would not have been able to deliver the Kite Festival without the ongoing support of the Royal Borough, to whom we are incredibly thankful.
“Without their core funding of Norden Farm, we could not have fundraised to deliver this community event for Maidenhead, making so many happy, collective memories that will endure.
“The festival highlighted what a warm, friendly, creative community we have and what a super special place Maidenhead is.”