Swindon’s Biggest Free Arts Festival!

Swindon Big Arts Day to take place on Saturday July 14 at Lydiard Park from 12pm to 11pm

As the weather hots up, so is the anticipation for this year’s Big Arts Day. The free festival, held on Saturday July 14 at Lydiard Park in Swindon, not only includes drama, art, workshops and professional acts, but also some great music. It has a huge line-up including singer Josh Kumra who had a Number 1 hit single last year with the song ‘Don’t Go’ released with Wretch 32. We, personally can’t wait as this event truly has something for everyone.

It’s quite a coup for Big Arts Day to announce Josh Kumra as he’s already joining a quaiity line-up.

Now in its third year The Big Arts Day is Swindon’s premier cultural festival – a celebration of all that is artistic and creative in the town. It takes place in the beautiful setting of Lydiard Park and audiences come from all over Swindon and the surrounding areas to experience a feast of entertainment.

In 2010, 20,000 people attended and last year there were about 25,000.

And this year they’re expecting even more especially having announced such a stellar line-up. This year they’ve got over 100 acts.

You might remember Swindonian Josh Kumra playing down your local Wiltshire pub only a couple of years back as one half of the talented duo Kicaberry but now this guy’s career is set to go stratospheric.

The singer-songwriter, who co-wrote and featured on the No 1 hit Don’t Go, with Wretch 32, is now signed to RCA and his first solo single ‘Helicopters & Planes’ is set for release on July 7.

He will be joining a host of other musicians throughout the day.

But Swindon Big Arts Day is about so much more than just music. From dinosaurs to puppets, from lobsters to lovehearts, this year’s Big Arts Day has something for everyone.

This year it will even have a dedicated Children’s Zone with attractions.

There’s Tiny the Dinosaur, a life-like interactive stegosaurus. Los Kaos, who created the dinosaur use their innovative combination of live sound, facial animatronics and extreme puppetry to bring Tiny to life. Accompanied by a palaeontologist who presents a lively natural history show, the audiences are encouraged to ‘get tactile’. An amazing opportunity to get up close and personal with a dinosaur.

The Van Dunk Brothers will also be on hand, on behalf of Bread and Butter Theatre. They will be armed with a trunk full of trunks, swimming caps, goggles, and armbands to delight the crowds with their award-winning dry-land synchronized swimming display.

There’s also Jason Maverick and his high-energy show, set almost entirely to music, combines superb mime and robotics with a huge range of skills.

Families can have 1930s-style seaside snapshots taken with three puppets who have just jumped out of their sepia photograph. Come and see Ida lazying in her deck-chair, Isaac playing with his brand new gramophone, and Alexandre training for the 1932 Olympics. Take the Pose combines puppetry, art performance, photography and new technologies.

As well as all that there will also be several walk about performers throughout the day including Granny Turismo - a trio of grannies arriving on their souped up shopping trollies; escaped greenhouse butterflies, giant lobsters and the Strolling Gardeners with their hilarious antics. There will also be love machines tantalising all five of your senses courtesy of Spread The Love as well as a high octane gymnastic street show from the Russian Sputnicker Sisters.

There’s also going to be workshops galore, exhibitions and even a literature zone.

Headlining this year’s Main Stage will be local hip hop artist, AJ live aka The Lyricologist. A Hip Hop artist who always brings an energetic performance to the stage. Now with several music videos and two albums under his belt he is about to release a third album, interestingly titled ‘Tangle your Cassette’.

The Main Stage will feature a host of genres from jazz, punk, rock, indie and pop offering a mix of new and original material and some great covers too. There will also be an acoustic/alternative stage and a Riffs/Holmes stage with a load of local artists taking part.

For more information visit http://www.bigartsday.co.uk

Main Stage

Swindon Samba - Nathan Jones Allstars - The Graham Mack Rock Band - Alice Offley - The Debuts - The Roadhouse Roosters - Ali Finneran - Big Sing Thing - James Daubney - Penfold - Slagerij - Theo Altieri - A and T - The Flex - Josh Kumra - AJ and Co.

Acoustic/Alternative Stage

Faye Rogers - Albion - Fraser Tilley - Drew Bryant - Claire B - Him and His Brother - Jenny Bracey - Callum Martin - Mantrasphere - Billyjon - Ethemia - Killing No Murder - Emily and the Dogs - The Erin Bardwell Collective - Old Colours

Riffs Bar/Holmes Music Stage

Dead by Friday - The Street Orphans - Atari Pilot - False Gods - Jessica Mary York - Kolakoca - Easter - Super Square Cloud - Coach - Nudy Bronque - Echo - White Knuckle Bride