New Leamington history festival launches

Buy photos » Festival organisers, left to right, Michael Pearson, Fiona Henderson, Sarah Taylor, Allan Jennings and Jenny St John. 19.012.028.leam.nc1 www.buyphotos247.com

THE HISTORY of Leamington will be celebrated at a new annual festival which kicks off on Saturday (May 26).

The inaugural Leamington Looks Back festival , running to June 10, will feature more than 60 events, from talks, walks and films to exhibitions, workshops and live performances.

It has been organised by local non-profit organisation Heritage Matters with the aim of making history more accessible.

A ticketed keynote event of the festival - on the evening of Sunday May 27 - will see political heavyweight Tony Benn and folk singer Roy Bailey perform their show The Writing on the Wall: a History of Dissent in Words and Song at the Spa Centre.

Other activities include a 1950s dinner-dance, 1940s and 50s nostalgia picnics with bands in Jephson Gardens and more than 40 other events taking place throughout Leamington and surrounding villages in public venues from cafés to museums.

They include two free talks by Archie Pitts, from the Leamington Society, as part of the Friday Focus lunchtime talks at Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum.

He will highlight restoration projects at the Railway Station (June 1) and the Linden Arches in the Pump Room Gardens.

(June 8). Both talks start at 1pm and there is no need to book.

Jenny St John from Heritage Matters said there would be ”something for everyone, from families and children to history buffs and vintage collectors.”

For more details on the festival visit www.heritagematters.org.uk or call Jenny on 01926 774373.

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