Wye Valley River Festival wows crowds with spectacular live return

Popular free arts and environmental event the Wye Valley River Festival has kicked off in style with thousands of people enjoying its distinctive mix of live performance and interactive arts.

The 2022 festival, which runs until Sunday (5th June), has already seen dancers, performers and even a giant Jabberwocky and huge pigeons flood the streets of Monmouth, visitors to Tintern Abbey be spellbound by innovative sound installations and community groups display their creative skills with work specially created for the popular open access festival.

Organisers Wye Valley River Festival CIC have been delighted to see crowds return as the biennial event made its live return following a four year absence. The festival began on Friday (27th) at Tintern Abbey, with the unveiling of amazing site-responsive sound commissions, inspired by the festival theme Human ⇋ Nature, by Chris Watson, Rhys Trimble and Simon Presto.

Visitors had the chance to experience the extraordinary sounds of the deep ocean with Chris Watson’s piece the Three Realms, conduct their own natural sound concerto with the Soundbeam installation and dial up a chosen celebrity to hear their ‘Letters to the Earth’. Dame Emma Thompson, Sam Lee and Jenny Ngugi are among those to record pieces for people to listen, reflect, and let their words resonate. The installations will be in place for visitors to Tintern to enjoy until Sunday.

The launch also saw a performance by specially-commissioned troupe The Bikesplorers, who are touring throughout the festival along a 65-mile route, camping on the way and putting on pop-up performances for audiences.

On Saturday, Monmouth hosted a Merry Mischief Day which saw crowds turn out to see lively circus acts, street theatre performers, musician and community group parade floats take over the streets. Among those to join the parade were a giant Jabberwocky float, a large horse, a flying saucer manned by a “visitor from outer space” and huge pigeons who walked among the crowds.

Banners and artwork created by local groups as part of the 2022 Festival creative community champion projects were on display as part of the procession.

Also on Saturday, at Tintern Village Hall dance therapist Cleo Lake took participants through an Afrikan Caribbean performance workshop. On Sunday, the Redbrook Revelry Day saw Bristol-based Steppin Sistas and local choirs walk and sing in Hidden Valley and bicycle-powered performance troupe The Bikesplorers play alongside funky street band The Wod Wos trio.

WVRF artistic director Phillippa Haynes said: “The 2022 Wye Valley River Festival has returned in style, bringing our unique brand of entertainment, artistic creation and environmental awareness to one of the most stunning areas in the country.

“It meant so much to everyone involved in the Festival to see the crowds turn out in their droves, especially all those who lined the streets in Monmouth for the Merry Mischief Day.

“Having had to move online in 2020 due to the pandemic, it has been wonderful to see live audiences be entertained, moved, engaged and inspired by an ‘interactive celebration and exploration’ of the region’s landscape and wildlife, with a wonderful mix of professional performers and participation by local community groups.

“We have redesigned our delivery model this year to bring smaller events to local locations, which has seemed to connect with people’s new appreciation of their surroundings following the lockdowns. There is plenty more still to come in the second half of the 2022 Festival so we look forward to seeing more people come together to enjoy the performances and participate themselves.”

This weekend there are interactive performances with Red Herring theatre company and the Whistler Conservation Society at Symonds Yat Rock from Friday until Sunday. The performances give the chance to glimpse and maybe meet  “the elusive Whistlers”, a remote whistling community, audiences will be able to sample their “extraordinary whistling language” up close.

Also on Friday, at Symonds Yat there is Flaxland, an afternoon of demonstrations of “the wondrous world of natural materials”. On Saturday (June 4) Ross-on-Wye hosts the Streets of Ross, which will see playful, interactive circus acts, street theatre, music and parades take over the streets as part of the Jubilee celebrations.

There are cinema evenings lined up as well as live music at Lydbrook Tump on Sunday, courtesy of the annual riverside Tump Fair. Also on Sunday, at Symonds Yat music lovers can join Bristol-based Algy Behrens musician on a rhythm nature walk which doubles as a tree and branch percussion workshop. At Leabrink Meadow musician Mike Simmons will stage the live launch of his album Wye: The River At My Window.

Most events are free to attend and do not require tickets, except for the Whistlers shows which need to be pre-booked. Access to the sound installation at Tintern is included with the entry ticket to the Abbey, available on the door or online.

To embody this year’s festival theme the organisers have ensured performers, producers and production crew, 90% of whom live within a 40 mile radius of the festival, reduce their vehicle usage. The organisers have also encouraged the use of carbon minimising methods.

Innovative arts organisation Wye Valley River Festival CIC is led by artists and communities all creating work focussing upon environmental themes. The festival is held every two years since 2014 but the 2022 event will be the first live festival to be staged since 2018. The festival moved to a digital version in 2020 due to Covid-19.

For 2022, the organisers have responded to public demand to create more opportunities to get involved throughout the year. Since January under a new initiative, five locally-based artists have been working as “creative community champions” to encourage arts participation to create work based on the region’s issues.

The Wye Valley River Festival was created and developed in 2014 a partnership between Arts professionals The Desperate Men and Phillippa Haynes and the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). It is funded this year by the UK Community Renewal Fund, Arts Council England, the Sustainable Development Fund, the Welsh Government and Forestry England.

For full festival information go to: www.wyevalleyriverfest.com