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21
Jul
Looking ahead to Knaresborough feva with the festival's spoken word director
The first blush of pink is creeping into Knaresborough, in the form of posters and flyers – but in three weeks time Market Square and the surrounding streets will be awash with the vibrant shade that’s now synonymous with feva.
The annual festival, which hosts a range of free and paid-for events such as live music, spoken word and art exhibitions, is set to return this summer between August 9 – August 18, and staging preparations are well underway to host the 10-day event.
In many ways, the cultural impact of feva is encapsulated in its Spoken Word Director Rowena Lloyd’s own experience of the festival.
She explained:
I was pretty much raised through the festival – it’s a bit of a family affair for me.
Rowena’s mother was the committee secretary for the first Knaresborough Festival in 1996. Established as a music event, it predominately used local pubs to host folk nights and smaller-scale gigs.
Due to popular demand, the remit soon expanded to encompass a much broader range of the arts. In 2001, Rowena’s father took over as festival chairman, which is when it officially underwent a rebrand to become feva, including the adoption of the now iconic ‘feva pink’.
In itself, the bold choice of pink was less of a conscious decision, more of a marketing tool – a ‘very happy accident’, as Rowena puts it.
It was never meant to stick – they got advice from a graphic designer and a publicist who told them: ‘this pink is what you want to be using for the next few years’.
So, they did. They intended to update it as trends changed, but the town completely embraced ‘feva pink’ and now that raspberry colour is a recognisable and important part of the festival.
It’s bright, it’s summery, and I think people just love it.
Chairperson Gwen Lloyd and feva volunteers
Innovation and expansion
Nearly 28 years on from the first official feva festival, the original organisers can scarcely believe the transformation from folk music to 10-day cultural celebration.
However, just as the colour pink is an interwoven thread connecting each event throughout decades, there are other traditions that have endured, even as new elements are introduced.
The annual Town Crier Competition marks the granting of the Town's Market Charter in 1310 and has become famous in its own right as vestige of living history.
Recently featuring on Channel Five’s Our Great Yorkshire Life the once-local competition now attracts town criers from all over the world. This year promises a competitor all the way from Toowoomba, Australia.
Another repeat visitor is Illyria Outdoor Theatre company. Making a festival debut in 2003, the troupe returned in 2023, and will be performing again this year with their adaption of The Adventures of Dr Dolittle.
According to Rowena, saxophonist Snake Davies ‘has probably been to more feva festivals than he hasn’t’.
She explained:
Over the years we’ve had such a range of performers and events, anything from larger scale theatre companies to local independent artists.
While we bring lots of new and exciting things every year, we’re also going back to some of the older traditions too – we've gone full circle.
The Town Crier competition will be returning to Feva festival on Sunday 11 August at 2pm
Two new events that Rowena is especially excited about this year is the inclusion of The HandleBards, a cycling theatre company that tours the country performing Shakespeare, carrying their props and costumes on their bikes.
As well as representing the closest example to the touring companies of old, they also bring an important message about sustainability and carbon neutrality.
The festival also coincides with an important piece of Knaresborough history – the 250 year anniversary of The Bells of St John’s, first installed in 1774.
To mark the occasion, alongside bell-ringing demonstrations, there will also be an exhibition in the church displaying artwork inspired by the milestone, by members of the public.
Rowena said:
I’m really looking forward to seeing what the community has created, partially because I have no idea what it’s going to look like, we haven’t seen any of the artwork yet.
I think it’s a great way to encourage people to get involved and celebrate a key part of the town’s heritage.
The festival is hosting two silent discos this year
'Complete artistic chaos'
Since its inception, feva has been run entirely by the combined efforts of volunteers and sponsorship by the local authority, businesses in the area and charitable organisations.
While there are those on the committee like Rowena who stay on longer, the injection of fresh ideas from new or returning members helps to ‘bring different perspectives or contacts.’
Alongside her role in feva, Rowena is a drama teacher, and initially joined the festival team to help encourage collaboration with schools and youth groups.
Even over the relatively short amount of time in relation to feva’s lifespan, she’s witnessed the continuing impact it has upon the area’s cultural offering.
She added:
When I joined in 2021, it was a struggle – we didn’t know if it could even go ahead until six weeks before because of Covid.
But we managed it, and since then we’ve just been building and building, working hard to get people back out into the community, and involved in the arts again.
It’s not been easy at times – things like the cost-of-living crisis have made the festival more expensive to run, and people have less money to spend, so it’s been trying to bridge that gap, and keep the festival running while making it accessible and affordable.
But there’s still a huge appetite for cultural events which is such a positive.
Every year, Rowena is still surprised by the creativity and talent that the festival draws out of the local area.
You sort of expect it now, but then you’ll take a step back and think how incredible it is. Knaresborough is such an arts and cultural hub – and we’re just a market town in North Yorkshire.
I’m not sure why it’s become the hub that it has, but it’s fantastic. It means we know local people will get involved. feva is 10 days of complete artistic chaos – there’s something for everyone.
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