THIS year’s Bradworthy Arts Festival, held on May 4 and 5 with a theme of ‘UNITY’, was another success for all those involved.

After the rains of two years ago the sun was a welcome attraction for all visitors to this bi-annual event, which is growing in size and in popularity year on year.

The Memorial Hall in Bradworthy square was, again, a great venue for a variety of arts and crafts exhibitors as well as a ‘reading room’ upstairs in the Collacott Room where this year, among other events, the festival hosted a very popular talk and book-signing by children’s author Claire Baker.

Among the wealth of exhibitors in the Memorial Hall, Sajla Armstrong displayed her unusual ‘Fleece Art’, which is inspired by her surroundings. Made with her own Alpacas’ delicate fleece, natural and hand dyed colours. Each piece is unique and she said: “I wouldn’t be able to replicate it even if I tried’. I call it my Anticipation Art because I never know what each picture will turn out like. I love creating these pictures and I am so pleased with the results.”

The Welcombe Spinners were very welcome again, exhibiting and demonstrating weaving and spinning skills and ‘everything textiles’ in the chapel. There was a group exhibition in the lounge/gallery at the Bradworthy Inn, as always, and plenty of musical entertainment in the bar. Music was also centre stage in the festival marquee in the main square — the ever popular Bradworthy Primary Academy band and choir, a folk-rock outfit called ‘Du Glass’ all the way from Penzance and another visit from the Winkleigh Morris Men among the many attractions.

The Worthy Pottery exhibited their wares, ran workshops and fired raku clay-work by visitors and proved a very popular venue again this year. The Brew Barn in Sutcombe, too, proved a popular venue, exhibiting sculpture, photography and watercolours in their beer garden and bar as well as showing art-videos and classic movies in their ‘home cinema’.

Organiser Dave King said possibly the highlight of festival, however, was the two converted spaces at South Worden Farm where owners Charlie and Maggi had, again, transformed the lambing barns into a wonderful, and very large, pop-up gallery showing the exciting work of six artists and hosting the music of two excellent local musicians. Dave said: “This proved to be a curatorial triumph and matched anything that the YBA artists achieved, in the 1980s, in the disused warehouses of South London!”

Speaking abut the festival in general, Dave added: “On the whole a great weekend celebrating the arts in this area of North Cornwall/Devon. Thank you to all our visitors for making the trek out to Bradworthy and we do hope you will return in two year’s time to another exciting event.”