Born in Heswall, Wirral Arts Festival is back with something for almost everyone

The Wirral Arts Festival takes place between October 1st and October 15th, and its organisers, who give so much and ask for so little in return, really deserve our support.

The Festival began life as the Heswall Arts Festival in 2010 but, six years ago, interest from elsewhere on the peninsula persuaded the founders to expand and rebrand as the WAF.

Founders Valerie Warr and Edward Peak recall how it all began. "We thought Heswall could benefit from a festival," says Valerie, "something affordable, accessible, that would inspire and entertain people, attract visitors, benefit local businesses, and put Heswall on the festival map."

"We had a blank sheet of paper," explains Edward, "and we filled it with ideas pretty quickly. That was in April 2010. I said to Valerie, 'So we'll launch in autumn next year?' And she said, 'No, we'll do it this year."

The Heswall Arts Festival was born and featured 55 events.

Valerie Warr

"We didn't really know what we were creating," says Valerie, "and we had no funding and still don't, so we press ganged friends and spread the word and begged and borrowed. Heswall Hall and the local Rotary Club joined in and somehow we managed to put together a pretty good line-up. And people liked it.

"The following 5 years saw more than 100 events being organised during each Festival fortnight and then, a couple of years ago, we decided to help more communities get involved under our new banner, The Wirral Arts Festival. They'd seen the model could work for them and wanted to be part of it."

"We thought maybe two or three events would happen outside Heswall in that first year," adds Edward, "but 12 other villages chose to join in and host days or evenings, from barn dancing to ballroom, to painting to belly dancing to photography.

"One wonderful thing is that sometimes these events or workshops turn into groups or clubs who keep up their interest, which means the spirit of the Festival is maintained throughout the year."

Edward Peak

"I love music," explains Valerie, but I also love science. So we started a Science Day and that usually involves four great speakers who attract some of our biggest attendances. We say it's an arts festival, but for us this can mean the art of anything, from engineering to sport to cookery, so we can cast our net wide to offer something for almost everyone."

To discover everything that's happening this year, pick up one of the flyers explaining the programme of events, or click or tap here.

An Engineering Day exhibit

The Patron of the Wirral Arts Festival is Sir Stephen Hough. Originally from Heswall he now lives in London, and is widely regarded as one of the most important and distinctive pianists of his generation. He has appeared with most of the major European and American orchestras and was awarded the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship in 2001.

He is visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London and holds the International Chair of Piano Studies at the Royal Northern College of Music.

Sir Stephen Hough