festival – New in Cambridge

The Minerva Festival Cambridge

The Minerva Festival is a city-wide celebration of music composed by women and non-binary people. Now in its second year, it started life as Cambridge Female Composers Festival, founded by a group of students from Cambridge University to highlight the work of women composers. The Festival’s name change for 2020 reflects both a desire to be more inclusive and a commitment to supporting the musical work of women and non-binary people.

In a varied programme, the recital series offers several events each week at colleges, churches and Kettle’s Yard, showcasing a broad range of instruments and music styles including musical theatre and jazz at Bar Nights, recorder and viola recitals as well as song. You’ll find services of Evensong and Compline in beautiful College chapels while King’s College Chapel will host a Sequence of Music and Readings for International Women’s Day.

There’s a workshop on the use of computer coding and electronics in live performance, talks on female composers and a panel discussion with stakeholders in the Cambridge music scene who’ll look at studying women in music and performance of their work.

The Minerva Festival’s Composition Competition is open to students and recent graduates of Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin universities. Women and non-binary composers are invited to submit a new a cappella choral work. Shortlisted entries will be workshopped by choral scholars and judged by a panel of leading female composers including Judith Weir and Deborah Pritchard. The winning composer will receive a cash prize of £100 and their work will be premiered in the International Women’s Day Concert on 8 March.

This International Women’s Day Concert will also feature a range of works by women and non-binary composers. Held in the stunning Chapel of Trinity College, with a pre-concert talk at Heffers, proceeds from ticket sales and a retiring collection will go to Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre which offers support to women and girls who have experienced rape, childhood sexual abuse or any other form of sexual violence. Last year, the Festival raised just over £1600 for this amazing organisation, which is dependent on such donations to keep their essential services running.

Image credit: The Minerva Festival

The Minerva Festival runs from 25 January to 9 March. Details of the full programme are on their website, all events (except the International Women’s Day Concert) are free to attend and everybody is welcome.

http://www.minervafestival.org

FB: @theminervafestival

http://www.cambridgerapecrisis.org.uk

2nd Eddington Craft Beer & Gin Festival Cambridge

Eddington Craft Beer & Gin Festival returns to Storey’s Field Centre from 17 – 20 October.

Image credit: The Crane Event

The Festival was born just a year ago when local event management company The Crane Event was approached to fill a gap in the Storey’s Field Centre schedule at short notice. Teaming up with Cambridge Event Bars, they created this hugely successful happening which is returning for a second year by popular demand, with over 30 craft beers from the best independent breweries and over 20 gins (so that’s me sorted then!).

Eddington Craft Beer & Gin Festival — Image credit: The Crane Event

There’ll be a different street food van each day, music from Americana good time band Swamp Truck on Friday and a home brew competition on Sunday.

Lifelong Cambridge residents Justin and Jemma Crane founded The Crane Event three years ago. Operating from their Mitcham’s Corner office (and assisted by office dogs Ludo and Shadow), they have fused Justin’s project management expertise with Jemma’s marketing experience to create a business which works mainly on corporate events both nationally and internationally.

The Crane Event Cambridge — Image credit: The Crane Event

Cambridge Event Bars has been providing bars and bar service throughout the UK to private and public events, as well as festivals, since 2014.

I’ve yet to visit Storey’s Field Centre at Eddington but I’ve noticed it coming up more and more as a venue for all sorts of Cambridge events. Justin tells me it’s a really beautiful new, fresh building, fully equipped and eco friendly with several flexible spaces inside. As the Eddington population grows, Storey’s Field Centre has become a focus for community as well as corporate events.

Storey's Field Centre Cambridge — Image credit: The Crane Event

Getting to Eddington is easy. Either use the U bus or cycle (there’s plenty of cycle parking). If you decide to take the car, Madingley Park and Ride is just a five minute walk away.

Children are welcome at the Festival until 9pm each day and under 18’s get in free. Tickets are available on the door or you can pre-purchase through Eventbrite, where tickets are cheaper and will fast track you past any queues on the day.

FB 2nd Eddington Craft Beer & Gin Festival

http://bit.ly/EddingtonFest19

http://www.thecraneevent.co.uk

http://www.cambridgeeventbars.co.uk

http://www.storeysfieldcentre.org.uk

Cambridge Veg Fest

Cambridge Veg Fest is happening from 13 – 21 July with free events and activities across the city, bringing the whole community together to celebrate local and seasonal vegetables. For Cambridge Sustainable Food, this marks the finale to their year long “Veg Cities” campaign, aimed at inspiring us to eat more vegetables and to reduce our intake of meat and dairy.

Asparagus at Cambridge Market — Bundles of asparagus at Cambridge Market

You’ll find a wealth of veggie based events for all the family, including:

Be an organic farmer for a day! Help out on a local vegetable farm, learn about growing your own veggies and take home some free produce.

The Mini Mobile Schools Vegetable Garden created by St Paul’s Primary School and Cambridge University Botanic Garden. This will be popping up at various venues around the city. It’s a vegetable show garden that teaches about vegetable families, crop rotation, composting and companion planting.

A Geo Cache Veggie Treasure Hunt along the Chisholm Trail.

Foodcycle Community Meals A free three course vegetarian meal (a vegan option will also be available) created from surplus food that would otherwise have gone to waste.

Rock Allotments Open Morning and Abundance Bring and Share Find out how to get an allotment and grow your own veg. Bring and share produce, plants and garden tools plus find out more about volunteering in community gardens.

Veg @ The Edge: Pay as you Feel Community Meal Enjoy a meal made from surplus vegetables at The Edge Cafe, home to Cambridge’s only Community Fridge.

Farmers’ Market and Town Meal Family Day Out Celebrate the city’s diverse food scene at the Cambridge Museum of Technology.

Tomatoes at Cambridge Market — Tons of tomatoes at Cambridge Market

For full details of all the events at this wonderful celebration of all things veggie, take a look at the website and keep an eye on the Facebook page too.

http://www.cambridgesustainablefood.org

Facebook: @cambridgefood

Eco Living Festival Cambridge

Eco Living Festival Cambridge returns to Lion Yard Shopping Centre on 6 July with a pop up Eco Lifestyle Advice Centre where there’ll be talks, workshops and masterclasses aimed at helping us make simple, practical choices and changes to create a lower impact on the planet and to achieve a more environmentally friendly lifestyle.

Image credit: Eco Living Festival Cambridge

Festival Founder, Caroline-Shaheera Asante, spent her early childhood at her grandparents’ pineapple plantation in Guyana, growing up just naturally living a sustainable and zero waste lifestyle. Post university in Canada, Caroline built a TV and radio career at the BBC but a trip to the Caribbean for a family reunion in 2014 was to change her path.

Image credit: Shane Asante-O’Neill

Stunned by the evidence of climate change in action, by the coastal erosion, the destruction of mangrove forests and the amount of plastic debris on the beaches, Caroline returned home and took an MSc in Sustainability and Environmental Science at Anglia Ruskin University here in Cambridge. Caroline started to work on the idea of creating an Eco Living Festival so when David Attenborough’s Blue Planet 2 natural history series, screened in 2017, brought the conversation about plastic pollution to the fore and spurred a zero waste movement around the world, she went ahead with the first Festival in September last year. The success of this inaugural event has led to Lion Yard Shopping Centre once again providing retail space for the pop up and to the involvement of new supporters, including Anglian Water.

This year’s Eco Living Festival theme is “How to Achieve a Low-Impact or Zero Waste Lifestyle @Home – Bathroom and Kitchen Eco-Hack.” Eco beauty workshops include making your own fresh cleansers and kids’ bath bombs with Lush and there’ll be talks on simple product swaps you can make to prevent environmental pollution. See how crisp packets, sweet wrappers and garden compost bags can be turned into Eco Bricks and learn vintage zero waste kitchen skills as you make food wrap, cleaning products and other household essentials the way our grandparents used to. All the events are free, some are drop-in and some need pre-registration.

Wave of Waste Dress - Linda Eco Design — Wave of Waste Dress Image credit: Linda Eco Design

In what promises to be a very eye catching display on the upper atrium of Lion Yard Shopping Centre, eco fashion designer Linda Thomas will create the Ocean Waste Dresses Installation featuring four dresses made from waste found in the sea and along the shoreline, including surf bodyboards and old “ghost” fishing nets.

To read more about Eco Living Festival Cambridge and to make bookings, take a look at the website.

http://www.cambridgeecolivingfestival.uk

Cambridge Beer Festival

The tents are going up on Jesus Green ….. it’s time for the 46th annual Cambridge Beer Festival which runs from 20 – 25 May. Festival Organiser Anthony Cox downed tools to chat to me about the UK’s oldest beer festival, brought to the city by CAMRA (the Campaign for Real Ale).

A core team of 30 people start to plan the Festival in December. “We’ve got all the beer ordered by the end of March,” Anthony tells me, “and then set up and take down each last a week either side of the Festival as we build the site from scratch”. The beer arrives several days before the Festival opens so that it can rest and settle while the site is readied to welcome around 40,000 thirsty visitors over six days.

You’ll find over 200 beers from across the UK with brewery bars, staffed by the brewers, offering keg and cask beers. The Key Keg Bar gives a chance to compare and contrast key keg and cask beers, the same beer stored two different ways, while the International Bar showcases beers from France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and America.

But it’s not just about the beer! The Cider Bar will feature more than 80 ciders and perries, all English and many from East Anglian producers, while the Wine and Mead Bar offers English wines in a variety of styles alongside mead, a drink made by fermenting honey and adding botanicals, from UK producers.

And you won’t go hungry either. The CAMRA Cheese Counter has a selection of bread and cheese, scotch eggs, pork pies and pickles. Food trucks parked up in the garden area will offer fish and chips, pizza, curry, falafel and vegetarian food, burgers, hog roast, doughnuts, cake and coffee.

New for this year is the CAMRA run Learning and Discovery Centre, offering tutored beer tastings and an informal area where you can drop in, chat to the experts and pick their brains about all things beer. The Family Tent welcomes children accompanied by a responsible adult and on the Saturday will feature a brass band, jugglers, face painting and other activities for kids.

Lunchtime sessions at the Festival are free entry and there’s a modest entry fee for evening sessions. You pay a small deposit for your glass (glasses this year have been branded to mark the 50th anniversary of the moon landings) which you can either take away with you as a memento or hand back as you leave. Or better still, if you return your glass to the Arthur Rank Hospice stand, they will get your deposit back ….. a brilliant way of raising funds to support the Hospice’s invaluable work in the city.

Over 400 volunteers are involved in the Festival and more are always welcome. Volunteer roles range from helping to set up and take down the infrastructure, arranging tables and seating, manning the glass and food counters, staffing bars, stewarding and, of course, looking after all that beer! Even just an hour or two of your time makes a real difference at this busy event. You don’t need to be a CAMRA member to volunteer, you’ll be given full training and your reward comes in the form of food and drink.

Take a look at the website for opening times, details of the Festival beer list and more.

http://www.cambridgebeerfestival.com

Cambridge Literary Festival – Spring 2019

The Box Office is now open for Cambridge Literary Festival which runs from 5 – 7 April, bringing together novelists, scientists, politicians, broadcasters, campaigners and thinkers in lively conversation and engaged debate.

You’ll find a wealth of new fiction, world literature, memoir and more as well as a fabulous children’s programme which includes “Happy Birthday, Elmer!”, an interactive story time to celebrate everybody’s favourite multicoloured elephant.

From the New Statesman Debate, “This house believes identity politics is an impediment to progress”, to afternoon tea at the University Arms Hotel with broadcaster and author Jenni Murray, the Spring Festival has something for everyone.

For the full Festival line up and to book tickets, head to www.cambridgeliteraryfestival.com

To read more about the Cambridge Literary Festival and its founder, Cathy Moore, click here

http://www.chrisboland.com

Cambridge Science Festival 2019

Cambridge Science Festival is celebrating its 25^th year and runs from 11 – 24 March, this year exploring the theme of “Discovery”. Hosting over 350 events, it will investigate a range of issues that affect our world today, from challenges around climate change policy, improving safety and quality in healthcare and adolescent mental health and will take a look at what the next 25 years holds for us.

There’s a packed schedule with events for all ages, most of which are free and which range from debates, talks, exhibitions, workshops, interactive activities, films, comedy and performances, all held in lecture theatres, museums, cafés and galleries around the city.

An enthusiastic audience clocks up over 60,000 visits to Festival events each year to explore the world of science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine. Run by the University of Cambridge, the Festival draws together independent organisations as well as University departments, centres and museums.

Significant scientific milestones to celebrate in 2019 include the 200^th anniversary of Cambridge Philosophical Society (Cambridge’s oldest scientific society) and 150 years since the publication of the modern Periodic Table. This year’s Cambridge Gravity lecture will be presented by Sir Gregory Winter, a molecular biologist and 2018 Nobel Laureate, whose research has led to antibody therapies for cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis.

Events for children and families include “Hands-On Science” at Cambridge Science Centre with fun workshops that encourage creative thinking and which will lead to some inspiring scientific and engineering memories, “Moonwatch” at the Institute of Astronomy and “Little Explorers: Ice and Anti-Freeze”, a sensory story session at the Polar Museum for the under 5s with storyteller, Marion Leeper. Dr Tom Crawford will bring the history of maths to life, with the aid of live experiments and togas, in “It’s all Greek to me!” while Channel 4 presenter, Dr Hugh Hunt, plays with blocks, balls, bikes and boomerangs in “An engineer plays with toys”.

Events that are going in my diary include a talk from Jesus College Intellectual Forum on “Is technology making us miserable?”, “Gene eating: The truth about diets” with Dr Giles Yeo on how to break the cycle of pseudoscience and misinformation about dieting and “Truffle Hunt” in the Botanic Garden. You can don your dancing shoes to celebrate the Festival opening at a ceilidh and wrap up the festivities with “Sunday Papers Live”, a sociable mix of food, newspapers and science.

Download and browse the full Science Festival programme at www.sciencefestival.cam.ac.uk. You can pre book events through the website or via the Festival booking phone line on 01223 766766.

Watersprite International Student Film Festival

Watersprite International Student Film Festival aims to discover, showcase and nurture emerging young film making talent from around the world and to offer a springboard for the film makers of the future as they start their careers.

Screenings, talks by award winning industry professionals, panels and interactive events are free and open to all. Now in its 10^th year, Watersprite 2019 has attracted over 1000 submissions from around 100 countries and, after two intensive rounds of judging, will be screening 26 nominated films at the Festival which runs from 7 – 10 March.

Full details are on www.watersprite.org.uk and to read more about Watersprite and the 2018 Festival, click here

Cambridge Literary Festival

One of the things I love most about writing for my blog and this column is the people I meet. People who are getting on with their daily lives, have that light bulb moment and just go for it to create something wonderful in the city. People like Cathy Moore, founder of the Cambridge Literary Festival.

Cathy first came to the city to read History at Newnham College and was only the second person from her Liverpool comprehensive school to make it to the University of Cambridge. She also loved English and books so after graduation, Cathy built a career in publishing before taking some time out to be with her young family. A spell in teaching followed but Cathy returned to Cambridge and books, working part time in Waterstones and running their programme of events. That’s where she met writer Ali Smith and as the two of them chatted about the Hay Literary Festival, they wondered why there wasn’t a similar event in Cambridge.

Within months, Cathy had created Wordfest, doing everything herself and setting up twenty four events in three venues. That was back in March 2003. “There were about sixty literary festivals then”, Cathy tells me, “and now there are around four hundred in the UK, so we’re all in competition for the authors.” Wordfest grew, events regularly sold out and initiatives like the debut writers panel made it truly a festival for writers as well as readers. After gaining charitable status, Wordfest rebranded as Cambridge Literary Festival in 2014. It now brings Spring and Winter festivals to the city as well as one-off events through the year and since 2017 has delivered the Wimpole History Festival in partnership with the National Trust.

These days, Cathy isn’t doing everything herself! She and her small team have an office in Downing Place and they have strong support from patrons, media partnerships and sponsors. A band of volunteer stewards welcomes the many thousands of festival goers and enables events to run smoothly for both authors and audiences. More volunteers are always welcome so if you’re interested in giving your time (and enjoying some volunteer perks!), contact the team through the website.

Festival venues this year include several beautiful university spaces which are normally hidden from public view. Refreshments will be available at most of these so you can grab a quick drink and a snack between events. Heffers run a bookstall and there are author signings too.

I’m really excited for this winter’s Festival; it’s always a fun, buzzy weekend and the packed programme truly offers something for everyone, including a brand new Murder Mystery Musical from Sophie Hannah which sounds intriguing! You’ll find details of what’s on and a booking facility through the Festival website at www.cambridgeliteraryfestival.com

http://www.chrisboland.com

This post is part of my “New in Cambridge” column in the November issue of Velvet Magazine. Read more on http://www.velvetmag.co.uk

Coming up in Cambridge …..

Cambridge International Jazz Festival runs from 13 – 27 November, bringing together the many strands of the city’s strong jazz scene and welcoming national and international jazz acts too. With a crammed schedule of vibrant live music at locations across Cambridge and celebrating a wide variety of jazz styles, the programme includes workshops (if you want to learn how to Lindy Hop, now’s your chance!), talks, films, family events and free entry fringe events. For full programme details and tickets, check out the Festival website www.cambridgejazzfestival.info

“Buy less, choose well, make it last” is designer Dame Vivienne Westwood’s message. With this mantra ringing in their ears, Cambridge Carbon Footprint brings us the Sustainable Fashion Festival on 17 November at St Barnabas Church on Mill Road, for all Cambridge fashionistas and for anyone who cares about the huge negative impact that fast fashion has on the environment. You’ll find a clothes swap party, a sewing themed textiles repair cafe, an interactive fashion show, sewing skillshares, a styling zone, workshops, talks and pop up sustainable fashion stalls offering new and vintage clothing. Take a look at www.cambridgecarbonfootprint.org for more.

Sustainable Fashion Festival Cambridge — Image: Sustainable Fashion Festival

So it’s that time of year ….. I’m making a list and checking it twice before heading off to Cambridge Made Christmas Fair which is my go to for original Christmas presents. The Fair is running from 29 November to 1 December at St. Andrew’s Street Baptist Church and will showcase the work of forty four designer-makers, artists and craftspeople. You’ll find a huge variety of handmade goodies including ceramics, jewellery, textiles, quilts, botanical toiletries, cards, decorations, toys and homewares. More details on their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/events/927219054144713/

Image credit: Purplespoon Design

This post is part of my “New in Cambridge” column in the November issue of Velvet Magazine. Read more on http://www.velvetmag.co.uk