Skegness SO Festival 2011 events program is out.

It’s looking good from what I can see with some big events taking place during the 2011 SO Festival.

We see the return of the World Famous which is a fireworks display company that took part in the first ever Skegness SO Festival in 2009.

They were spectacular during the SO Festival in 2009 and we’re looking forward to seeing them again on Skegness beach.

In 2009 World Famous was accompanied by a band called Terra Folk and it was a great event of music, pyrotechnics and fireworks it will be interesting to see what World Famous are going to bring to the Skegness SO Festival 2011.

It looks like Games Time should be a good showcase of dancing, fireworks and music, but the proof as they say is in the pudding, will the SO Festival 2011 top SO 2010?

This is what has been released so far about the Skegness SO Festival for July 22nd to 24th. I’ll give a quick jargon free run down of the main performances for each day of the three day SO Festival 2011. At the bottom is information of the official SO Festival information released by East Lindsey District Council.

It looks like not everything for the SO Festival has been confirmed as yet and times and places haven’t been included, hopefully this information will be released soon.

On Friday July 22nd there will be Fireworks display by World Famous which will include fire and music, I can vouch that this will probably be well worth seeing, in 2009 World Famous was amazing. Just before World Famous performs it looks like there will something for kids called Schools Out, the official SO Festival info is vague on this part of the evening so I’m not sure what this will be, it says a programme of dance, street theatre and music but nothing in detail.

On Saturday 23th the SO Festival will bring Games Time which is a dance routine with weird costumes, there’s going to be 200 volunteers from around Lincolnshire taking part which makes me a bit nervous, nothing worse than watching amateurs dancing and kids with cheesy smiles, but it is part of a production by Déda Producing a leading arts organisation, so we will see if this can match Plasticien Violant’s from last years SO Festival top billing act and Transe Express.

They say games time will be set against a backdrop of giant video projections and music, but a dance off/competition against 4 teams from Skeg, Boston, Mablethorpe and Lincoln doesn’t fill me with confidence since they are only getting 8 weeks to practice and I do believe only 4 rehearsals, it’s a gamble the SO Festival is taking but we will see if it can stand up to the standard of 2010 SO Festival.

On Sunday 24th you can chill out with some young bands playing in Tower Gardens, I can vouch for this it’s a great relaxing day to just sit and chill out listening to some great music. I really enjoyed it last year and I will be going again it makes a much needed change to the music we normally get on Tower Gardens the rest of the year which is just brass bands for the old folks, so it’s great to hear up and coming musicians play.

There will also be other things going on in Skegness during the SO Festival 2011 like music, dance, art and street theatre during the SO Festivals three day event. I’m personally looking forward to Levity II which will be a giant plastic maze constructed on Tower Gardens which sounds cool.

Here’s hoping the SO Festival is a huge success in 2011 and the weather is bright and sunny :)

The SO Festival says that Bill Wyman from the Rolling Stones will be closing the SO Festival, but I’m not sure that’s true! I don’t think Bill Wyman’s concert at the Skegness Embassy Theatre is officially part of the SO Festival program since the SO Festival is not mentioned on Bill’s website or on the Embassy Theatre website as being part of the SO Festival. Add that to the fact that Bill Wyman comes to Skegness a day ‘after’ the SO Festival officially ends.

Bill Wyman has been touring the UK with his show and it’s been advertised on the Embassy Theatre website for months, I keep close tabs on the Embassy’s website and there has been no connection mentioned about Bill Wyman show Rhythm Kings being a part of the SO Festival, so I think they are pulling a fast one here, I’m going to bet he was coming to Skegness anyway as part of his 2011 tour and they are piggy backing on his prestige hmmm!

One thing is for sure the SO Festival is the best reason to come to Skegness in late July, hopefully the full programs for the SO Festival will be available soon so people can plan their holiday to Skegness.

Skegness SO Festival 2011 Official Whats On

‘Mythical beasts, fireworks, internationally-recognized musicians, gigantic video projections, enormous art displays in Tower Gardens – yes, SO Festival is back.

Friday night (22nd July) will see The World Famous, which performed at 2009’s festival, return to Skegness with a new show. The performance, All Hands, explores collective endeavor, impermanence and change, and the power of connection will combine fire, fireworks and music in a spectacular and moving visual journey.

Before The World Famous perform, SO Festival 2011 will open with School’s Out – a program of dance, street theatre and music designed especially, but not exclusively, for families and school children, who will be embarking on their summer holidays.

Two months of outreach work with schools and dance groups will come to fruition on Saturday 24th July as Games Time premieres on the foreshore.

The large scale spectacular involving 200 people from across Lincolnshire will see four teams compete in a choreographed story involving kings, queens, executioners and mythical creatures, such as dragons and minotaurs, set against a backdrop of giant video projections and music.

Created by Déda Producing, one of the East Midlands’ leading arts organisations, Games Time is one of four Community Celebrations to be funded by Legacy Trust UK, an independent charity set up to create a cultural and sporting legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. As well as Games Time, Legacy Trust UK is funding other large scale outdoor community events in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the South East of England.

Rock legend Bill Wyman will bring the festival curtain down when he performs at the Embassy Centre. The former Rolling Stone will appear with several special guests during the concert on Monday 24th July.

This year’s SO Festival will continue its tradition of unusual, engaging and enthralling works of art, theatre and dance appearing in unexpected places throughout the weekend.

One such appearance will be by the Architects of Air which will erect Levity II, a luminarium, in Tower Gardens for the duration of the festival.

Levity II is a network of connected chambers constructed from brightly coloured translucent plastic. Entrance to the dazzling maze of winding paths and chambers of up to 10 meters in height will command a small charge, but all other outdoor events during the festival are free.

The SO Dance program returns throughout the weekend, with dance groups from across Lincolnshire performing as part of Games Time and also on their own as part of the wider festival line up.

This year’s festival will build Skegness’ international reputation, which was formed when Swedish arts organisation Intercult brought Black/North SEAS to the town in 2009. Since then East Lindsey District Council has continued to strengthen its relationship with Scandinavia and the town of Helsingborg in particular. Moving Colour is an international exchange programme, part of the Lincolnshire Showcase, and will see Swedish dancers performing in Skegness during SO Festival.

Sunday will once again see local musicians bring a chilled out feel to Tower Gardens.

As well as arts events, this year’s SO Festival will include a sporting element as the English Beach Volley Ball Championships take place on central beach over the weekend.’

Skegness SO Festival 2011