On Sunday July 13, creative people of all ages and backgrounds will arrive in Painswick to display their creations on a London-style catwalk in the village’s iconic St Mary’s churchyard for this year’s ACP Festival
The Festival, now in its fifth year, is looking to be bigger and better than ever, with more than 80 designers signed up to create works of art displayed on the body, in line with this year’s themes of ‘Reflections’, ‘Invasions’ and ‘Legends’. The event will be compered by TV celebrities Dr Dawn Harper from Channel 4’s Embarrassing Bodies and Lisa Maxwell from Loose Women. In 2013, 10,000 people flocked to view the inovative outfits, including Radio 1’s Nick Grimshaw and local pop musician Lily Allen.
Lady Gaga designer Adnan Bayyat and Harriet Verney (Isabella Blow’s niece and Vogue contributor) are among the names announced as judges at this year’s event. Other confirmed judges include contemporary artist Daniel Chadwick, abstract artist Rachel Howard, Denise Innes from the British School of Millinery and professional artist Swarez.
As well as the churchyard catwalk show, the streets of Painswick will be filled with a colourful array of stalls selling hand crafted goods, food and tasty offerings from local suppliers. This year there will also be circus skills’ workshops amongst the street entertainment, and the pinnacle of the day will be a flypast from RAF Dakota.
Cheltenham-based BPE Solicitors are the Festival’s headline sponsors. Their Business Development Manager, Claire Harrison said: “We are thrilled to be involved with the festival this year, it is a brilliant reflection of the entrepreneurial spirit of the Cotswolds and it is set to be a fantastic day out for all the family”.
As well as cash prizes, the festival competition offers work placements as prizes to college students, including opportunities with fabric designers Nancy Parker and Lewis and Wood.
The festivities will kick off on Saturday afternoon at 3pm, when the Paris-based quartet Hermes will perform a recital as part of the Cheltenham Festivals, followed by a display of classic and veteran cars around the village, compered by Top Gear’s Richard Hammond.
ACP is a registered charity, and is run by an enthusiastic local team. The charity works with schools, colleges, local businesses and arts enterprises to encourage creativity and a love of the arts.
Admission to the festival will be £5 on the day, or £4 in advance; children under 12 go free. See website for details www.canvasforcreativity.com
