DISCOVER THE COAST
The streets of Scarborough, the UK’s oldest resort and Queen of Watering Places, will come alive over the next few months as the new Scarborough Fair steps up another gear and brings art, theatre, music and more to the town
The year-round festival – actually a collection of small, regular festivals under the overall banner of The Scarborough Fair – kicked off last winter with the first element, Scarborough Lights, which saw local artists work alongside national and international names to paint the town red (and green, and blue, and yellow) with dazzling art installations, all involving – yes! – light.
And now the fair moves into phases two, three and four with Scarborough Streets, Scarborough Art and Scarborough Fringe all incoming over the next few months.
Festival director Julian Caddy says: ‘At the core of The Scarborough Fair is the community aspect – that’s absolutely paramount, and crucial to our thinking. We have government funding for the first three years, but this needs to be a long-term project with a legacy for the town, the region – and nationally and internationally, too.
‘I started by looking at what people in the town are doing already, alongside what they’d like to see in the future. There’s also an element of possibly reviving things that used to happen, and that people miss. I hope that mix will make The Scarborough Fair sustainable.
‘We want to involve as many local people as we can to create an event that is genuinely designed by, created by, inspired by and, I hope, loved by, the town for many years to come.’
The first event of the spring and summer is Scarborough Streets, taking place over the early May Bank Holiday weekend (Saturday May 4 to Monday 6).
This three-day festival of outdoor events, murals, street art and performances has already seen local artists attending workshops in the run-up to create a new and inclusive community event for the town centre.
A variety of free and affordable performances and activities will inspire, celebrate and showcase local creativity, as well as bringing national and international artists to the coast.
Look out for a community parade, street performances, interactive, walkabout performances, interactive installations, workshops, site-specific theatre performances and street art.
Next up is Scarborough Art, an exciting new affordable art trail taking place at various venues across Scarborough and beyond. It will run for seven weeks from Saturday, June 15 to Sunday, August 4 – plenty of time to b
