A Festival of Tales for Ormskirk Town Centre

A feast of visual art, creative writing and performance is being created for Ormskirk in time for the run-up to Christmas.

From 6 November to 5 January, a time of pantomimes and festivities, Ormskirk will offer magical fairytales of its own with the town centre as venue for the festive season.

This programme, called A Festival of Tales, will involve local and international artists. It will also provide creative opportunities and competitions for local artists, writers and shopkeepers to get involved, and for visitors to engage, create and enjoy the unique work on offer.

Well-known artists will be commissioned to develop new work inspired by local heritage and folklore. The innovative artworks will be located in shops and businesses and animate the town centre to help make it even more vibrant.

Creative writing compositions will also be written and performed during the festival period and creative writing workshops and competitions organised for "would be" authors.

A Festival of Tales is being developed by West Lancashire Borough Council Arts Development Service, Ormskirk Town Centre Management Group, and Edge Hill University in partnership with local businesses. The programme has received a £15,000 grant from the Arts Lottery Programme.

Councillor Ian Moran, Leader of West Lancashire Borough Council, and portfolio holder for Economic Regeneration, said: “A Festival of Tales is a really exciting project and will help make Ormskirk an even more vibrant place this Christmas. We hope local shopkeepers will become involved too with their own window displays to go alongside the commissioned artworks.”

Councillor Yvonne Gagen, portfolio holder for Leisure, said: “Local artists and writers will also have the chance to get involved, so get in touch to find out more.”

If you would like more information or would like to get involved in any way contact
Helen Juste Arts Development Manager, West Lancashire Borough Council
Helen.juste@westlancs.gov.uk.

Find out more about Ormskirk and the surrounding area by visiting the new website www.discoverormskirk.com. You can also find Discover Ormskirk on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/DiscoverOrmskirk/.

For more information on West Lancashire Borough Council events please visit www.westlancs.gov.uk/events.