Mitcheldean Festival

Behind the scenes we’re working on plans for Mitcheldean Festival 2021.

The Young Poets Competition will be held online again this year and entries are now open.

The music element of the Festival is also being planned — we have a full roster of acts waiting to perform for you, but we don’t yet know whether it will be live performances or a virtual/online event.

If we go down the live route we hope to hold two concerts (one on the evening of Friday 16th July and one on the afternoon of Saturday 17th July) and a sing around session on Saturday evening.

If we have to stick to a virtual event there will be a single live-streamed concert on Saturday afternoon/evening on the Mitcheldean Festival Facebook Page followed by a sing around on Zoom from around 9pm.

And, of course, our annual folk walk will take place on Sunday 18th July.

We’ll post more news about the direction we’re heading in the next few weeks.

On Thursday 23rd July between 6-8pm we will be holding an outdoor Folk Club session at Lea Bailey Light Railway on the edge of the Forest of Dean just 3 miles from Mitcheldean. The Lea Bailey Light Railway Society has preserved a section of narrow gauge mining railway along with locomotives and wagons on the site of a former gold and iron mine, which itself occupies the trackbed of the former Mitcheldean Road & Forest of Dean Junction Railway.

Limited seating will be available on a selection of wagons parked on the track but you may wish to bring your own folding chairs or a picnic blanket. Please note that there are no indoor toilet facilities available but there are plenty of secluded locations screened by bushes should you wish to answer a call of nature!

Optional themes for songs and poetry include mining, industry, railways, and the Forest of Dean.

• Directions to Lea Bailey Light Railway

Join us on our Facebook page and Zoom for Virtually Mitcheldean Festival 2020 on July 18th from mid-day to 11pm. Here’s what we have planned. (Invitations to Zoom sessions will be posted nearer the time.)

Live on Facebook:

12:00-12:30 – Peter Vadiveloo (live from Melbourne)

12:30-1:00 – The Shaughnessy Brothers

1:00-1:30 – Jenny Shaw

1:30-2:00 – ReBil

2:00-3:00 – Young Poets’ Competition

Live on Zoom:

3:00-5:00 – Festival Ceilidh

Streaming on Facebook:

3:00-6:00 – video contributions from Strannik, Reivers’ Gallows, Nightingales Watch, Ged Wilson, Kev Minney and more

Live on Facebook:

6:00-6:30 – Tarion

6:30-7:00 – Anna my Charlotte

7:00-7:30 – Lucy Jarrett

7:30-8:00 – Bernard Hoskins

8:00-8:30 – Pauline Valance

8:30-9:00 – Rob Haligan

Live on Zoom

9:00-late – Mitcheldean Folk Club singers night (all welcome)

Have you ever wanted to, (or tried to) sing a song, read a poem or show a party piece to an audience, but found that fear got in the way or it went horribly wrong?

Maybe you lost your nerve, or had stage fright?

Maybe you felt you would be judged and heard those negative voices in your head screaming failure, or that you simply aren’t good enough; somebody may have even told you this!

You are definitely not alone.

The Chocolate Drop-in seeks to provide a safe, friendly and non-judgemental environment for sharing your experiences, a place to perform (if you wish) and of course chocolate!

Tracey will tell you a little about her own nerve-racking experiences and if she’s feeling brave, will happily share a song and a wee bit of guitar playing. She is still terribly frightened but has been told it “adds to her performances” in the local Folk Clubs, open mics and beyond. She believes there is no such thing as “bad” singing, poetry or prose; it is an expression from within, like painting.

Bring your voice, instrument and/or experiences for some fun and see what unfolds.

Find her in the cosy, and private area of the Lady Chapel in the Church from 11am ‘til noon. All ages and abilities welcome; children to be accompanied by an adult.