Malmesbury Town Team, which represents retail and hospitality businesses in the Wiltshire town centre, has announced the second Pride of Place Malmesbury Festival for the summer of 2025.
Beginning with St. Aldhelm’s Fayre on May Saturday May 24 and the EAT:Malmesbury food and drink event on Sunday June 1, this six week festival includes exhibitions, live events, urban sketching, photography, and a ‘landscape artist of the year’ painting challenge in Abbey House Gardens on Saturday June 7.
Malmesbury was recently named by The Sunday Times as one of the best places to live in the UK, and this festival will celebrate Malmesbury through culture, food, and entertainment.
David Drake, who chairs the Town Team and is co-Director of Malmesbury’s arts development agency Caerbladon, will be managing the summer festival. He said:
“A particular focus is collaborative working with local groups and business partners to project a positive image of Malmesbury and its cultural offer, and to provide opportunities for participation for local residents and visitors alike, thus increasing footfall and supporting business resilience.
“We are calling on businesses and professionals to step up as sponsors or partners to help us deliver these events for the community and to celebrate what’s special about Malmesbury with wider Wiltshire and beyond.”
Holly Bohn Pitman, CEO of one of the event sponsors, Whim Hospitality, said:
“Whit and Kim Hanks, the owners of the Old Bell Hotel and Abbey House Manor, are happy to support events like Pride of Place Malmesbury that bring visitors to the town and celebrate its rich and varied history.”
For many centuries Malmesbury has been a place of sanctuary, from Celtic pilgrims and war-time evacuees to, more recently, Ukrainian refugees currently hosted with local families.
The theme of ‘sanctuary’ runs through the festival, from exhibitions and events during Refugee Week (16 – 22 June) to the Ivana Kupala Ukrainian Midsummer Event in Cloister Gardens on Friday June 27. Throughout the festival there will be a temporary Sanctuary Garden in Birdcage Walk which provides a venue for live performances, family activities and peaceful contemplation, with an exhibition on the railings celebrating the local area’s nature and biodiversity.
Pride of Place Malmesbury is keen to involve new local residents, as well as those who have lived in the area for many years. To this end, in partnership with Persimmon Homes, there will be a community celebration on the new Backbridge Farm housing development on Saturday May 31, launching the new nature-themed artworks that have been made by commissioned artist Kerry Lemon on the site, and encouraging new residents to feel fully involved with the life of the town. For more information visit https://www.caerbladon.co.uk/
Article from Scott Media
