The weather forecast isn’t the best we might have hoped for, but come rain or shine, one thing we can say for sure is we’ve another bumper day’s programme of ‘stuff’ planned for this year’s seventh annual free festival.

ENTERTAINMENT FOR CHILDREN

Entertainment for children will be provided throughout the day by STEAM COMMUNITY GROUP in The Wiend/Gerrard Winstanley Gardens area. See our various facebook pages for further info, including details of the themed workshops in our activities tent.

11.00am BADGE MAKING WORKSHOP
12.00noon WEARABLE ART WORKSHOP
1.00pm ELECTRO BUGS WORKSHOP
1.00pm DRUMMING WORKSHOP
2.00pm ROCK A PET WORKSHOP
3.00pm DIGITAL MUSIC MAKING WORKSHOP

NEW THIS YEAR: Check out our Diggers’ Festival Top O’Millgate/Grand Arcade Stage from 10.30am onwards which will combine a traditional Speaker’s Corner style platform for trades union, environmental, social justice and other campaign speakers from across the North West to put their case to the Wigan public; with performance art, and live music, poetry and other entertainment provided by Charlotte Peters Rock, Tony Harper and guests.

Speakers from WASPI; Re-Open Chorley A+E; Fast Food Rights Campaign, People’s Assembly; Bolton & Wigan Diggers; Greater Manchester CND, Frack Free Wigan, Leigh & Makerfield;  Cuba Solidarity, Frack Free Lancs; International Brigade Commemoration and more.

11.30am  – 11.45am – Historic Digging Re-enactment in Gerrard Winstanley Gardens  

Actor Brendan Delaney will once again play the role of Gerrard Winstanley in our symbolic re-enactment of the digging at St. George’s Hill near Weybridge in Surrey in 1649, from which THE DIGGERS gained their name. Accompanied by the Bolton Clarion Choir.

11.45am  – 12.00noon

Official Opening of the Festival – Main Stage, Believe Square

This year’s festival will be opened by Martin McMulkin, Chair of Unite the Union, North West Regional Committee, this year’s main festival sponsor.   

12.00noon – 12.40pm – Main Stage, Believe Square

BRANDON LEE WEBB BAND

12.40pm – 1.00pm – Dorothy Fryman Song & Story Stage, Gerrard Winstanley Gardens

MONOLOGUE JOHN BARTLEY – EVA CURLESS – GEORGE MELLING

1.00pm – 1.10pm – Main Stage, Believe Square

FESTIVAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

1.10pm – 1.50pm – Main Stage, Believe Square

HARP & A MONKEY

1.30pm – 2.30pm – Wigan Parish Church (around 400 yards from Main Festival site)

A talk by Dr. David Taylor (Historian and Writer from Cobham, Surrey – Gerrard Winstanley’s other home) on GERRARD WINSTANLEY: THE BIBLE & GOD

1.50pm – 2.10pm – Dorothy Fryman Song & Story Stage, Gerrard Winstanley Gardens

JOE ASTLEY

2.10pm – 2.50pm – Main Stage, Believe Square

WONDERLAND TRIP

2.30pm – 3.30pm – The Wiend Bar, The Wiend

Short play “THE PUTNEY PRINCIPLE” by The Soothside Radicles, followed by a discussion with the cast on the issues raised in the play about The Levellers and the 1647 Putney Debates.

2.50pm – 3.15pm – Dorothy Fryman Song & Story Stage, Gerrard Winstanley Gardens

LAWRENCE HOY

3.15pm – 3.45pm – Main Stage, Believe Square

PAULINE BLACKBURN

3.30pm – 4.30pm – The Wiend Bar, The Wiend

Short play “UNFINISHED BUSINESS” by The Soothside Radicles, followed by a discussion with the cast on the issues raised in the play about The Chartists’ movement, which existed from 1838 to 1857 and campaigned for the six basic reforms of ‘The People’s Charter’.

3.45pm – 4.10pm – Dorothy Fryman Song & Story Stage, Gerrard Winstanley Gardens

PATCHWORK RATTLEBAG

4.10pm – 4.25pm – Main Stage, Believe Square

MORE THAN WORDS

4.25pm – 5.00pm – Dorothy Fryman Song & Story Stage, Gerrard Winstanley Gardens

BARD COMPANY

5.00pm – 5.40pm – Main Stage, Believe Square

JOHN THE BAPTIST & THE SECOND COMING

5.40pm – 6.05pm – Dorothy Fryman Song & Story Stage, Gerrard Winstanley Gardens

STEPHEN SMITH

6.05pm – 6.45pm – Main Stage, Believe Square

MATHER ROBINSON BAND

6.45pm – 7.10pm – Dorothy Fryman Song & Story Stage, Gerrard Winstanley Gardens

DARREN POYZER

7.10pm – 7.50pm – Main Stage, Believe Square

VISION THING

7.50pm – 8.20pm – Dorothy Fryman Song & Story Stage, Gerrard Winstanley Gardens

GEORGE BOROWSKI

8.20pm – 8.30pm – Main Stage, Believe Square

FESTIVAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

8.30pm – 9.30pm – Main Stage, Believe Square

MERRY HELL

9.30pm – FESTIVAL ENDS

 

See you there.

ADDENDUM