Time travel

The Norwich & Norfolk Festival celebrates 250 years

Celebrating its 250th anniversary this year, the Norfolk & Norwich Festival is the oldest single city arts festival in the UK.

Its roots date back to the founding of the Norfolk & Norwich Hospital in 1772, when a fundraising concert was held in Norwich Cathedral. Loved by the locals, the concert became an annual event and in 1778, a four-day Grand Music Festival was created, alternating between St Peter Mancroft Church and St Andrew’s Hall.

In 1824 the Norfolk & Norwich Triennial was founded, which continued for almost 100 years. Young English composers to appear included Gustav Holst. The 1936 festival featured the world premières of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Five Tudor Paintings and Benjamin Britten’s Our Hunting Fathers.

In its milestone year, Festival 250 celebrates the communities of Norfolk, Norwich and the surrounding areas.

Ad/Dressing the City sees 10 local artists create window displays for independent Norwich businesses heralding the rich history of windowdressing in festivals past.

Hester Stefan Chillingworth presents This Is The Sign You Have Been Waiting For, a collection of playful new signs re-interpreting traditional signage, and Salome Wagaine explores the past and present of Norwich’s casual dining scene with Takeaways, a series of menus reflecting the city’s cultural history.

The wide-ranging Festival 250 programme also revisits seminal works premiered at the festival as well as introducing 18 new commissions.

Installations, exhibitions, gigs, a circus and cabaret take place on beaches, in churches, at pop-up venues, chapels, art centres, in car parks and through the streets across the county’s towns and throughout Norwich itself.

Festival Gardens are a place to eat, drink and gather for the duration, with al fresco performances from local artists as well as international concerts in the Adnams Spiegeltent.

On until May 29. nnfestival.org.uk

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