From Lantern-making to Fandango (Status: Contributed)

THIS year, Towersey Village Festival is packed full with more workshops than ever before. From Fandango and Harmony Singing to Lantern-making and Yoga, the Festival?s wide and varied workshop programme offers activities for all ages and abilities. All that?s really left to decide is which one to try first!

Towersey offers an enormous array of dance workshops including Breton, Scandinavian, Contra, Rapper, French Bourrees, Austrian, Fandango, Irish Step, Molly, Border Morris, North West Morris, Longsword and Appalachian. For those keen to flex their vocal chords there are workshops in Harmony Singing, Global Vocals and festival-goers can even learn how to Sing Like a Bloke! Music workshops range from Afro Brazilian Dance, Austrian and Hungarian music to American Traditional music and English Song as well as Concertina classes and the ever-popular Slow and Steady Music sessions. The Festival also offers Yoga sessions, lantern-making and circus skills workshops.

Towersey?s Shooting Roots project offers young people aged 12-25 an opportunity to develop new skills, meet loads of other young people and experience the excitement of being involved at the grass roots of a folk festival. This year?s workshops include the Funky World Band, the Ceilidh Project as well as Theatre, Craft, Dance and Song. The work of all the Shooting Roots participants will be presented in a dazzling Showcase on Monday evening.

There are also loads of great activities on offer for the younger ones at the Towersey Children?s Festival, which is renowned for being one of the best on the scene. This year?s programme includes Taiko drumming, song workshops, storytelling, craft workshops, parachute games, circus skills, dance classes, Mini Melodeons and a ceilidh workshop with Whapweasel. There will also be a magical family puppet show from Hand to Mouth Theatre Company called Head in the Clouds, the Grand Family Ceilidh and a chance to experience the hugely popular Family Bat Walk.

Towersey?s workshop programme offers a great opportunity to learn new skills, meet new people and get truly caught up and involved in the Festival atmosphere. More information and all the latest updates can be found on the Festival website at www.towerseyfestival.com.