There will be no Literary Festival in Fowey in 2020
2nd July 2020: The 2020 Fowey Festival, which was initially postponed from May until September because of the Covid-19 pandemic has been cancelled. The Fowey Festival Board of Trustees have been monitoring the situation throughout the past months, but have now, with heavy hearts, announced that the Fowey Festival will not take place this year.
Close monitoring of the Government’s advice concerning the safety of visitors, speakers and all those involved with running the Festival and worrying financial constraints, have meant that to protect the future of the Festival and produce an excellent event for everyone in 2021, this year’s Festival must be sacrificed. Work continues on the 2021 Festival, scheduled for 7th – 15th May, and it is hoped that some of the events which were to take place in September will be included next May.
Currently, the festival board expect the winter event hosted by Michael Portillo will take place on 17th December 2020, at Fowey Parish Church at 8pm, as planned.
Current membership for Silver and Bronze Friends of the Festival will be extended to 31st May 2021.
Ticket holders will all be contacted, with advice on what to do next about the tickets that they bought for both the May and September festivals.
Depending on Government guidelines, the Board of Trustees hopes to be able to bring festival-goers some one-off events during the coming winter and spring and will contact you about those in due course.
Meanwhile, please stay safe and well everyone, and we look forward to seeing you at the Fowey Festival in 2021.
You can still help...
raise emergency funds to cover ongoing costs and ensure the festival survives, please join in our crowdfunding scheme and donate what you can. Click here for full information:
https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charity-web/charity/displayCharityCampaignPage.action?campaignId=11702
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A literary festival has taken place in Fowey for many years, the first being The Daphne du Maurier Festival of Arts and Literature in May 1997. This was a community initiative which had the full support of the du Maurier Browning family and was timed to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Daphne’s birth.
From then on it became a tradition that 13th May, Daphne’s birthday, would always be included within the dates of the festival.
That first festival provided the pattern for the future, with du Maurier-related walks, exhibitions, talks, plays and music events. There was a national one-day conference on the subject of Daphne du Maurier and the Romance of Place, with speakers including Avril Horner, Sue Zlosnik and Helen Taylor.
This was repeated on a much bigger scale in 2007, to celebrate Daphne du Maurier’s centenary, when a three-day international conference was held and concluded with a visit to Ferryside for all the delegates.
Over the years that followed the Daphne du Maurier Festival of Arts and Literature grew, under the direction of a small team of people from Restormel Borough Council led by Jonathan Aberdeen. The centrepiece of the festival was a beautiful festival village, built on land belonging to Fowey Community College just beyond Fowey Hall Hotel.
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When the festival in Fowey began it was a rare and special event, which thrived through the good years of the 2000s. But, as the decade drew to a close, a huge range of literary festivals all over the country gave people a greater choice of venue, and politics and the recession began to play their part in what was to become quite a struggle for survival.
With the inception of a unitary authority in the county, Cornwall Council could no longer justify supporting the du Maurier Festival in isolation; funding was reduced and shortly after ceased. However a local group of enthusiastic people got together, incorporated themselves into a charity and the Fowey Festival of Words and Music was born.
The festival became an altogether smaller event, located in various venues around the town, and, despite misgivings from many people, both local and visitors, has proved in the last few years to be very successful and financially sound.
The festival is gently growing in strength and content, under the direction of Brenda Daly and its board of trustees, and is enjoyed by all who come.
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The formula is still one of walks, exhibitions, talks, workshops, plays and music events but also includes an Art Trail, which gives local artists the opportunity to open their homes and studios to show their work. Another popular addition in the Secret Gardens Programme, through which local people open their gardens to festival goers. The festival also always makes a point of focusing on events to include children.
In 2016 the name of the festival was tweaked slightly, to reflect more accurately what the festival does, and became the Fowey Festival of Arts and Literature. Despite Daphne du Maurier's name no longer being in the festival title she is still a vital part of the proceedings.
We can now confirm that the dates of the next Fowey Festival of Arts and Literature are 7th - 15th May 2021. We will being you news of what you can look forward to and link you with the festival website, so that you can be completely up to date with all festival news.
www.foweyfestival.com
