Buxton Festival is an annual event that takes place in and around Buxton Town. it is has become a popular event for locals and visitors.
There is always something happening in Buxton and it is not only famous for being the highest town in England but it also the place to be to enjoy a whole summer long jam packed full programme of celebrations. It is a town that can boast quite proudly and rightly, the very best opera, the best music, the best literature and the most diverse comedy scene found in the heart of the beautiful Peak District. Rivalling Edinburgh’s fantastic Fringe Festival, Buxton has its very own and draws celebrities, professional comedians and a whole host of musicians.
Buxton fringe Festival started in 1980 to run alongside the Buxton Festival, which is very much opera based. It is now one of the largest fringe festivals in England and is often used as a springboard for Edinburgh, where acts try out there performances to a hopefully responsive and happy crowd. It’s an open access arts event, offering a showcase for performers of all kinds in a variety of venues, some new talent and some more established. It has a very diverse programme of events, including music, laughter, opera, dance, drama, poetry, film, comedy, magic and exhibitions. These are just a small portion of the forms of entertainment which delight audiences each year. There are also lots of free of charge events such as the Fringe Launch Party, The Dome Art Fair, Buxton Art Trail and Fringe Sunday which drove the total audience figures up to an estimated 24,000 so it’s easy to see how popular it is becoming and why acts from all over the country want to be seen there.
Buxton Festival is run alongside the fringe and is just as popular. It’s an arts event which takes place in the summer showcasing music and literature, but focuses mainly on and the very finest opera. It is renowned for its relaxed and friendly atmosphere and brought in over 40,000 visitors to the town last year.
The Gilbert and Sullivan Festival has now been going on for nearly 20 years, and takes place in hopefully, warm summer months usually between July and August. It brings back memories of the U.K.’s most enduring and talented musical duos and audiences clap and single long, with performing groups of over 50 members arriving from far afield such as South Africa, the USA and Canada.
The Four- Four Time Festival of live music is held annually in February and has featured in many talented and well known performers, presenting a wide programme of diverse music, including the very best pop, blues, jazz, rock and world music. Nearly 25 years old now, it was launched in 2003 and it has featured huge names such as Jools Holland, the James Taylor Quartet, the Kate Rusby Trio and we can go on and on.
Buxton Adventure Festival took place the towns arts centre during October and was billed as a celebration of the ‘very best speakers and films from the world of adventure, travel and sport’. It is hoped that last year’s success will bring the ground again this year again repeating a similar program to the inaugural festival, which consisted of 10 illustrated lectures on a wide range of activities from mountain biking to wild swimming and each lecture was followed by one short film.
Buxton Festival World Cinema is a new festival like the adventure Festival, which took place in November at the new Pavilion Arts Centre and the Paupers Pit Theatre in the Old Hall Hotel. It was presented in conjunction with Buxton film and it has been described as ‘offering a feast of passion, comedy, colour, action, suspense, documentary and music from every corner of the globe.’ Offering a diverse and very different selection of 17 feature films from around the world, it also included some very short films and documentaries.
Buxton Puppet Festival features British and international artists with performances and workshops for all ages at venues around the town. There are also Street performances which are free of charge and really delight the children. Buxton puppet Festival takes place in July.
Visit Buxton Festival Website