Belper Arts Trail: Sunday 5th and Bank Holiday Monday 6th May

30th April 201930th April 2019 Clare Washbrook

Belper Arts Trail is in its sixth year, having started in 2014.

The organisers wanted “to bring together local and diverse artists” and give Belper artists a much lacked exhibition space. The Trail gets bigger and better every year, with thousands visiting Belper to follow the art trail and to come together in the Memorial Gardens, King Street and the Market Place for the first festival of the summer, with music, food, booze and community.

It is Belper’s only arts and culture festival, the others being based around music, food, drink, and eco-living.

This year the organisers are giving us access to 130 artists, who will have temporary exhibits and stalls in 58 venues around the centre of town. The organisers have described the quantity and variety of art and craft on sale and display as “enormous”.

New venues added this year include the newly relocated Duffield Art Gallery, the Railway Tea Rooms and Nourish at No 44. There are also many new artists joining the trail, both exhibiting and offering workshops and demonstrations.

There will be live music throughout the festival. The main stage will be in the Memorial Gardens as usual, surrounded by food and drink stalls, as well as children’s entertainment and street theatre by Captive Audience.

There will also be children’s activities on the Trail itself. Twistin Tots will be along the Trail as children’s entertainment. There will be children’s workshops in the Scout hut behind the Methodist Church. And of course, Captain Dan and his pirates will be swashbuckling outside and inside the The Ritz Cinema. Visitors are encouraged to wear their best pirate outfits.

Captain Dan’s showtimes Times are midday and 1.30pm at The Ritz Cinema.
Tickets cost £2.50, no booking required.

There will be a history trail to follow, with a real life spot the difference.

Belper Arts Trail enthuses, “It is a fantastic weekend which brings a real buzz to the town.”

This year, stickers will be replaced with wristbands for access, which gets rid of the common problem of losing the stickers. These wristbands have been sponsored by Nourish at No 44. There will be a brochure, with a map of the trail, as usual, detailing where you can find all the artists and events.

You can buy your wristbands and brochures before the event starts, and avoid the queues. These are available now at Nourish at No 44, Duffield Art Gallery, TimeandAgain, Sue’s Sustainables, Fleet Arts and Belper North Mill Museum. On the days of the Trail, you can buy them at the Trail gazebo in the Market Place, The Memorial Gardens and Strutts Community Centre.

The wristband and brochure will enable you to enter every venue and costs £3 per person.