Exciting ideas on the table for Riverside
STAMFORD could be alive with a variety of acts across different venues if plans for a fringe festival come to fruition.
The organisers of the annual Riverside Festival held a meeting on Wednesday at the Corn Exchange Theatre in Broad Street, Stamford, for groups to give their ideas on how the format of the music festival could change next summer.
The Riverside Association wants to for up to 20,000 to run a cultural event next summer in the run-up to the 2012 London Olympics.
Jenny Collins, one of Riverside's directors, said the meeting was very positive.
She said: "What we are looking at doing is still a bit vague but we had about 30 groups come along and a lot of apologies from groups which wanted to attend, but it was really good to get that cooperative spirit which in itself was a real buzz."
The main idea that came forward was for a fringe festival, which would see the organisers put together a comprehensive list of a variety of venues like pubs, cafes, theatres, open spaces, churches and schools and match them with acts like bands and singers, poets, comedians, and drama and dance groups.
Jenny said: "This idea of a fringe festival has really sparked a lot of people's imagination and we had some of the potential venues that could be used and some of the groups that would want to participate.
"It was great to meet so many groups which we have never worked with before and see the enthusiasm there is."
The next step is for the directors of the Riverside to meet on Sunday to look at how realistic putting together a fringe festival is and whether it is something that would run alongside the popular music event or instead of it.
Jenny said: "We are initially looking at running fringe events for the two weeks either side of Stamford Festival and we are working with Stamford Festival Association, which was represented at the meeting on Wednesday.
"It is still in the early stages but we do need to work very quickly because we have to put the bid in for the Cultural Olympiad funding by the end of this month."
This year's music festival, which was held over two days to celebrate its 10th anniversary, attracted more than 15,000 people.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Stamford
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: East
