The Spring Season brochure is available now and tickets can be booked online at www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/arts or in participating libraries.
The new season brings high quality, affordable arts activities into the heart of towns and villages across Cambridgeshire, now reaching 25 locations. With tickets available from 13 January, the season will run from Saturday 22 February until Saturday 27 June and includes performances and workshops that have been hand-picked by over 350 local people who have helped to shape the tailor-made programme.
The Spring season of events provides something for everyone, regardless of age and interests. It includes music and storytelling performances, theatre and comedy shows, and circus and puppetry extravaganzas. A musical highlight is multi-award-winning folk duo ‘Ninebarrow’, whose performances have earned high praise from radio broadcaster, musician and writer, Mark Radcliffe, and The Daily Telegraph as a great example of strong British folk music.
Theatre highlights include, ‘The Hard Way’ by the enchanting and talented Louise Jordan, telling the story of English Suffragette Hannah Mitchell and the award winning ‘Common Lore’ by Stute Theatre. Back for a second season across four venues is ‘The Improvised Book Club’, a brilliantly clever and funny improvised comedy night themed around books and audience anecdotes.
The programme also features a variety of arts and craft workshops, including printmaking, singing and creative writing. In celebration of LGBT History Month in February author and published poet, Michael Brown, will work with LGBTQ+ authors to inspire participants to write their own poems or short stories.
Councillor Steve Criswell, Cambridgeshire County Council’s Chair of Communities and Partnership Committee said: "The last season of The Library Presents was a standout success, we reached more of our local community than ever before and hosted spectacular and varied performances across our libraries. We are passionate about showcasing high quality arts in an affordable way, using more than 75% of our Cambridgeshire library network, and further highlighting the many different ways that the spaces can be used to explore and broaden our minds. Make sure you grab your tickets soon!”
Another highlight of the Spring season is the Big Read & Write literacy initiative, a collaboration between ‘The Library Presents’, The Kite TSA, Cambridgeshire County Council and Empathy Lab. The Big Read & Write is an interactive event for Year 5 children designed to inspire their love of the written word. Featuring renowned children’s author Sita Brahmachari, the free countywide event will take place on Wednesday 25 March and will be broadcast live via YouTube so that everyone can join in.
'The Library Presents’ is run by Cambridgeshire County Council working with Babylon ARTS and funded by Arts Council England. Hedley Swain, Area Director, South East, Arts Council England, said: “Libraries remain an essential part of our local communities. Not just for their core roles, but for what they are able to offer in addition – safe spaces that can be used to bring people together through creative activities. The Library Presents is a great example of this in action and I am pleased to see that more libraries will benefit from the new Spring season.”
The events will be held at the following locations: Arbury Court Library, Barnwell Road Library, Barnwell Baptist Church, Buckden Library, Burwell Library, Cambourne Library, Cambridge Central Library, Chatteris Library, Cherry Hinton Library, Clay Farm Library, Cottenham Library, Ely Library, Great Shelford Library, Haddenham Arkenstall Centre, Histon Library, Huntingdon Library, Littleport Library, March Library, Ramsey Library, Soham Library, Somersham Library, St Ives Library, St Neots Library, Whittlesey Library and Wisbech Library.
Funded by Arts Council England and created in partnership with Babylon ARTS, 'The Library Presents’ programme appeals to all ages and interests. It includes performances of dance, music, puppetry, comedy and theatre as well as workshops in music, art, writing and performance skills.
The full programme is available now and tickets can be booked online at www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/arts or in participating libraries.
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