How it all began
In 2003, a project funded jointly by the Sustainable Development Fund of the Brecon
Beacons National Park and the Arts Council of Wales gave Arts Alive the opportunity
to greatly expand and develop its activities over a period of 3 years. An important
theme in this 3 year plan was sustainable communities. With a remit to increase participation
and enjoyment of the arts, it seemed natural to focus on a big celebration of the
arts and our community. Hence, one of the most exciting new initiatives was the creation
of a new community event for Crickhowell and the surrounding area, the Dragon Gateway
Festival.
Our first Festival, a 9 day event held from June 26 to July 3 2005 included exhibitions and displays, a poetry event, a rock concert, taster workshops, a community performance of ‘Under Milkwood’, an afternoon of ‘High Street Stories’ and a Grand Festival Day featuring all the usual elements of a local summer show – stalls, music, activities, with some very special extras.
This first festival saw the hatching out and arrival of Crickhowell’s own Dragon. During the Festival Day, in a specially commissioned open air theatre production, written and directed by Dek Leverton, an enthralled audience discovered what the ‘Dragon Gateway’ was and what was behind it. The Crickhowell Dragon is a huge silk street puppet that stretches over 20ft high. Since his first appearance on 2 July 2005, he has been a frequent and highly visible visitor to schools and events across the region.
In 2006, we changed to a 4 days festival format and made the Festival Day a stronger
focus for the community with great success. We still included a poetry event, a rock
concert, a film night and theatre but invested time and materials into participation
in a Dragon led procession. We had hundreds of entrants to the procession and combined
the start of this event with the annual fund-
The 2006 festival also had a slight change of focus as we celebrated the arts and
the environment. We made a particular effort to invite stalls with an environmental
focus as well as ensuring that the great wealth of community groups, schools, churches
and societies had the opportunity to come to the Festival Day. We held an ‘Art on
the Railings’ open exhibition for the first time, and enjoyed historical re-
The support of our local community has been crucial in staging the Festival, particularly the financial and logistical support of Crickhowell Rotary. We hope that the Festival will continue in future years and become an annual fixture in the local calendar.
Despite the rain this years festival was a great success even though everything had to be packed into the Clarence hall and the Resource centre next door. If you took part in the 2007 Festival and have photos to share with us, we would love to hear from you. Or perhaps you forgot your camera and don’t have any photos yourself. Would you like to be involved in future events or have feedback or ideas about last year’s event? Why not contact us or visit us at Arts Alive.