Local people invited to join Derby Festé line-up

Organisers of the forthcoming Derby Festé are inviting local people to join some of the top European acts that will be performing at festival in the largest ever community procession.

Derby Festé is the East Midlands’ flagship arts and cultural festival, which attracts over 30,000 visitors to enjoy dance, circus, acrobatics, music and theatre across various locations within the city centre.

This year, the event is taking place from Friday 22 to Saturday 23 September.

It will feature the River Life procession, which will take place on Saturday evening, starting from 6.15pm.

The river-themed extravaganza will start at Cathedral Green and flow beside the river path behind Premier Inn, ripple over the Exeter Bridge and then dance through to the River Gardens.

Thousands of people are expected to join the community procession which will bring the city to life with carnival costumes and dancers, samba drumming, movement and creativity, river creatures and glowing insects, and fire breakdancing.

The procession will include performers from some of the top acts who are appearing during Derby Festé.

Members of the public are invited to pre-book and attend free workshops in the coming weeks, which will then secure their place in the procession as well as hundreds of others who are able to join on the night.

Déda is hosting drumming and dancing workshops, while Derby Museums’ Museum of Making will stage making workshops, to create sculptures and placards for the procession.

Festé producer Manya Benenson said: “Now in its 15th year, Derby Festé has built a reputation for presenting work of national and international recognition for audiences to experience and delight in.

“The parade has long been an integral part of the festival and this year we wanted to combine the magic of the professional acts with the joy and enthusiasm of local people, joining together side by side to create an unforgettable procession in Derby.

“We hope that people across the city will embrace the opportunity to be part of the Festé programme.”

Derby Festé is backed by a number of partners, including Déda, Derby Museums, Derby LIVE, Derby City Council, Derby College Group, Derby Theatre, the University of Derby, Derby Cathedral, Artcore, QUAD, Down to Earth Derby, Marketing Derby, the Cathedral Quarter and St Peters Quarter.

To book on the workshops visit https://www.derbyfeste.com/front-page/takepart/ .