Evesham Festival of Words was launched in 2016, initially with a three-day weekend at the beginning of July. By year 2, 2017, the Festival had extended to include a few ‘fringe’ events either side of the main weekend. That expansion of the Festival has continued until we now have a year-long Festival, albeit still with a main weekend at the end of June/beginning of July.

The choice of name, i.e. Evesham Festival of Words, as opposed to Literary Festival, was deliberate. We wanted to celebrate our town and include author events but also a wide range of other written, spoken and sung events.

That has led to inclusion of concerts, walks and bike rides with a literary theme, poetry Open Mic events, Quiz Nights with a wordy slant, as well as a wide range of talks and events on a range of topics from A Passion for Fashion at Blenheim Palace to the 60^th Anniversary of the Great Train Robbery, and from Gandhi to Byron. Our one-man/woman plays have ranged from Agatha Christie to Mrs Churchill and One Man in a Boat.

Over the years we have enjoyed visits from a host of fabulous authors and performers, as well as local authors and lesser-known names, all of whom have contributed to our very varied programmes each year.

If you’d like to know more, Festival Chair, Sue Ablett, has put together a talk entitled ‘Bums on Seats’ that tells you so much more about the Festival. Available for booking for local groups. E: info@eveshamfestivalofwords.org