Almost 500 people attended Picnic in the Park in the gloriously sunny gardens of Knaresborough House this afternoon.
The free five-hour event, which featured four live bands and two DJs, is a highlight of the town’s 10-day arts festival Feva.
Knaresborough Lions Beer Festival was held alongside the picnic.
Knaresborough has been decked in Feva pink for the annual late summer festival.
It ends tomorrow with Harrogate Spa Town Ukes playing on the High Bridge gardens and a poetry evening at Mother Shipton’s Inn.
The beer festival also finishes tomorrow at Knaresborough House.
Feva chairperson Gwen Lloyd, who has attended dozens of events during the festival, said she was delighted with how it has gone:
“It’s been really well attended. We have a four-pronged format of street entertainment, visual art, music and spoken word.
“Now it’s a question of developing it and taking a few risks.”
You can watch a live video of today’s picnic on our Facebook page here.
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Here are some photos from Knaresborough House today.
The team from Feva.
Knaresborough House provided the backdrop.
Knaresborough Lions took care of visitors’ thirst.
The stage featured live acts throughout the day.
Knaresborough’s annual summer arts festival Feva will begin on Friday with a 10-day programme of about 80 events.
Feva has become one of the town’s main events of the year, with many shops decorated in promotional pink as part of a window competition organised by Knaresborough and District Chamber.
First held in 1996, this year’s line-up include a talk by book editor Ana Sampson on the hidden history of woman writers, an outdoor performance of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and Status Quo tribute act Status Faux.
Picnic in the Park, a free afternoon event at Knaresborough House featuring bands and DJs, takes place on August 19.
With Knaresborough Lions‘ three-day beer festival taking place on the same weekend, the town will be in celebratory mode.
Shop windows are decorated in Feva pink for the festival.
However, preparations have been hit by the Feva Facebook page being hacked,
Gwen Lloyd, chairperson of the Feva committee, said it had done everything possible to take back control of the site or even get it removed but Facebook had not acted.
A new Feva Facebook page with details of events is available here.
Ms Lloyd said:
“It’s been very frustrating. We’ve had to set up a new page and getting people to realise has been tricky.
“The old Facebook page is now under the control of someone in Vietnam. We can’t even get Facebook to close it down.”
Feva, which was founded by the late Derrick van Zelst and his son Robin, includes a combination of free and paid-for events.
It was initially called Knaresborough and was more of a folk festival, but changed its name to Feva — which stands for ‘festival of entertainment and visual arts — in 2001.
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Knaresborough’s 10-day arts festival set to begin
One of the largest annual arts festivals in the Harrogate district is set to get underway.
Feva, the festival of entertainment and visual arts, takes place at a host of venues in Knaresborough from August 12 to 21.
Supported by Knaresborough Town Council, Harrogate Borough Council, Knaresborough Lions and Piccadilly Motors, this will be its 26th year.
The festival traditionally ends with the free picnic in the park in the grounds of Knaresborough House on the final Saturday.
The picnic is due to take place this year but there will also be a folk festival the following day. Street entertainers will perform in Knaresborough throughout the festival.
Headline acts include saxophonist Snake Davis (pictured above), who will be appearing with his Alligator Shoes band at King James’s School on August 16.
A new feature this year is a children’s art day.
About 40 events will take place at more than 20 venues over the 10 days.
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Many shops decorate their windows pink in support of the arts event.
Gwen Lloyd, chairperson of the committee for Feva, which is a not-for-profit organisation run by volunteers, said:
“The whole ethos of Feva is that it’s a community festival run for the community.
“It encompasses the whole of the town and we try to ensure there are lots of free events.”
Yorkshire Life Aquatic performed dry land synchronised swimming last year.
Tickets for Knaresborough FEVA festival have gone on sale after the committee decided next month’s event will go ahead.
The festival of entertainment and visual arts, which is taking place for the 25th time, will feature the likes of poet Simon Armitage, singer-songwriter Jez Lowe and the musician Snake Davis.
Shops have begun decorating their windows in the pink theme in preparation for 10 days of arts at multiple Knaresborough venues.
Planning was delayed this year due to the uncertainty surrounding the lifting of covid restrictions but Gwen Lloyd, the FEVA chairperson, said the committee was now working hard on making it happen.
The event, from August 13 to 22, will feature indoor and outdoor events, including numerous workshops for all ages and hobbies, as well as the much-loved Picnic in the Park.
Picnic in the Park, which is being held on August 21, normally attracts about 450 people to the grounds of Knaresborough House for a free afternoon of music. DJ Trev is among this year’s acts.
To celebrate the 25th festival, a special event will be held in the grounds of Henshaws Arts and Craft Centre at which some 300 people will enjoy music.
Yorkshire Life Aquatic, the dry land synchronised swimmers, will be performing.
The street performers on Market Place will include a Punch and Judy act, jesters and dry land synchronised swimmers will be performing.
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Ms Lloyd said:
“It’s been months of planning, of course it’s nerve wracking because normally tickets are nearly sold out at this point but we have had to wait for lockdown announcements. I’m sure it’ll be a huge success.”
The festival programme is available here.