The Trustees talk about the GAP Festival to Goring Gap News
The Festival Trustees and planning team have been working behind the scenes for over a year, and the Festival running 12-21 June is just five months away.
Inspiration behind setting up this local event
The main inspiration was undoubtedly to recapture and keep alive for the current and future generations the wonderful community spirit
and fun experienced during Goring and Streatley’s 2012 Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Celebrations. It was largely that sentiment which helped win over the judges of the Legacy Project Committee. They had been tasked with holding a competition to establish a Jubilee legacy project; a ‘single big idea’ which the commuity would get behind and support.
The panel felt that the benefits of a festival would be many, but in particular, it would enrich the cultural life of the communities, bring professional performances to Goring and Streatley, boost the local economy and encourage community spirit and cohesion. The inaugural
10-day festival took place between 27 June – 6 July 2014. The rest is history.
The GAP Festival in 2020
The Festival keeps evolving and each year we aim to add something new so that our offer is always fresh and exciting. In 2020 the events will be spread out across the villages, including some new venues. There will be outdoor theatre in a field, an opera in a barn, events on the Rectory Garden, and visits from famous authors discussing their works. Concerts will be held in smaller venues instead of a marquee to enable audiences to get up close and personal with the performers. All ages will be catered for. There will be a Guinness World record holder doing spectacular things with bubbles, shows for children, TV personalities, workshops for adults, and lots, lots more. Names will be revealed in the next update.
Local community support
We are totally dependent upon the local community to help keep this fabulous Festival going. The villages have always been great at giving their support as event goers, but to make the events happen we also need volunteers. Work begins a year in advance when a small team of unpaid volunteers begin contacting possible performers, working out the programme, and finding and booking the venues. Catering has to be planned, licences obtained, the ticketing facilities set up, the website kept up to date and marketing and publicity has to happen. And of course, we also raise the funds to pay for it all. Only performers, venues and printers are paid, though some also donate
their services. Now the main programme has been established we are calling out for more volunteers to be event managers and their work begins now. Each event also needs front of house help (ushers, ticket collectors, bar and catering staff), people to put out chairs and props and to look after the performers. We also need people to put up posters and deliver flyers. To help us please contact help@thegapfestival.org
Charitable objectives for the event
The GAP Festival (or Goring and Streatley Festival to give it its registered name) is a registered charity (Charity reg. no: 1161360) whose aim is to celebrate the arts, culture and heritage. It brings events to the villages that would otherwise entail people travelling long distances, gives
everyone the opportunity to see professional performers on their doorstep, provides a variety of entertainment and cultural events and encourages visitors to see new art forms they might otherwise be unaware of. It celebrates local musicians and performers and groups. The Festival’s presence in the villages encourages visitors who provide custom for local businesses, thus keeping our shops, cafés and hotels going, so we can benefit from them all year round. And above all it is fun – local shops and organisations join in the offerings too, bringing a further celebratory element to the Festival. The Charity can also make grants and undertake other charitable activities.
At the time of writing we have several ideas under consideration and will be able to let everyone know which projects we will be supporting in the next issue.
Trustees’ favourite memories from past festivals
We all have individual favourite memories, and we know that many volunteers get a warm feeling from seeing other people enjoying themselves at events that we have all, as a team, brought together for the Festival. Seeing children dancing with abandon at a family event; hearing shouts of ‘more, more’ for a headline act and the roar of approval when an encore is then given; discovering a new group of a cappella singers you’d never heard of before but who become a firm favourite on your playlist – there are endless examples of the joy we feel as volunteers and event goers. For example, watching the Pasadena Roof Orchestra perform with people dressed up in 1920s formal evening dress, dancing to the music while others tapped their fingers and enjoyed their drinks and food at the tables. Or the excitement of children discovering Badger in the woods during the Wind in the Willows at Withymead. It’s an amazing feeling thinking that we made this happen and to look at how everyone is enjoying themselves!
A sneak peek of who will be on this year’s line up
We have a great line up this year but we only have room to give you a taster in this short item. The Festival opens with two world premieres of new compositions setting one of our foremost poet’s work to music as part of a choral event on Friday 12 June. Jude Tzuke will be the
headline act on the last Saturday 20 June, and St Thomas’ have a very special partner event as part of their Becket celebrations which we are sure you will find irresistible.
How readers can find out more
Acts will be announced on:
www.thegapfestival.org
Facebook and Twitter @TheGapFestival
Instagram @thegapfestival20
Tickets will be on sale in April via the website and at The Care Hub in Goring Arcade.
The Trustees: Geoff Brown, Colin Reeves, Heather Dunthorne, Ron Bridle, Rebecca Joisce, Jane Dipple, Caroline Hitch
January 2020
Inspiration behind setting up this local event
The main inspiration was undoubtedly to recapture and keep alive for the current and future generations the wonderful community spirit
and fun experienced during Goring and Streatley’s 2012 Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Celebrations. It was largely that sentiment which helped win over the judges of the Legacy Project Committee. They had been tasked with holding a competition to establish a Jubilee legacy project; a ‘single big idea’ which the commuity would get behind and support.
The panel felt that the benefits of a festival would be many, but in particular, it would enrich the cultural life of the communities, bring professional performances to Goring and Streatley, boost the local economy and encourage community spirit and cohesion. The inaugural
10-day festival took place between 27 June – 6 July 2014. The rest is history.
The GAP Festival in 2020
The Festival keeps evolving and each year we aim to add something new so that our offer is always fresh and exciting. In 2020 the events will be spread out across the villages, including some new venues. There will be outdoor theatre in a field, an opera in a barn, events on the Rectory Garden, and visits from famous authors discussing their works. Concerts will be held in smaller venues instead of a marquee to enable audiences to get up close and personal with the performers. All ages will be catered for. There will be a Guinness World record holder doing spectacular things with bubbles, shows for children, TV personalities, workshops for adults, and lots, lots more. Names will be revealed in the next update.
Local community support
We are totally dependent upon the local community to help keep this fabulous Festival going. The villages have always been great at giving their support as event goers, but to make the events happen we also need volunteers. Work begins a year in advance when a small team of unpaid volunteers begin contacting possible performers, working out the programme, and finding and booking the venues. Catering has to be planned, licences obtained, the ticketing facilities set up, the website kept up to date and marketing and publicity has to happen. And of course, we also raise the funds to pay for it all. Only performers, venues and printers are paid, though some also donate
their services. Now the main programme has been established we are calling out for more volunteers to be event managers and their work begins now. Each event also needs front of house help (ushers, ticket collectors, bar and catering staff), people to put out chairs and props and to look after the performers. We also need people to put up posters and deliver flyers. To help us please contact help@thegapfestival.org
Charitable objectives for the event
The GAP Festival (or Goring and Streatley Festival to give it its registered name) is a registered charity (Charity reg. no: 1161360) whose aim is to celebrate the arts, culture and heritage. It brings events to the villages that would otherwise entail people travelling long distances, gives
everyone the opportunity to see professional performers on their doorstep, provides a variety of entertainment and cultural events and encourages visitors to see new art forms they might otherwise be unaware of. It celebrates local musicians and performers and groups. The Festival’s presence in the villages encourages visitors who provide custom for local businesses, thus keeping our shops, cafés and hotels going, so we can benefit from them all year round. And above all it is fun – local shops and organisations join in the offerings too, bringing a further celebratory element to the Festival. The Charity can also make grants and undertake other charitable activities.
At the time of writing we have several ideas under consideration and will be able to let everyone know which projects we will be supporting in the next issue.
Trustees’ favourite memories from past festivals
We all have individual favourite memories, and we know that many volunteers get a warm feeling from seeing other people enjoying themselves at events that we have all, as a team, brought together for the Festival. Seeing children dancing with abandon at a family event; hearing shouts of ‘more, more’ for a headline act and the roar of approval when an encore is then given; discovering a new group of a cappella singers you’d never heard of before but who become a firm favourite on your playlist – there are endless examples of the joy we feel as volunteers and event goers. For example, watching the Pasadena Roof Orchestra perform with people dressed up in 1920s formal evening dress, dancing to the music while others tapped their fingers and enjoyed their drinks and food at the tables. Or the excitement of children discovering Badger in the woods during the Wind in the Willows at Withymead. It’s an amazing feeling thinking that we made this happen and to look at how everyone is enjoying themselves!
A sneak peek of who will be on this year’s line up
We have a great line up this year but we only have room to give you a taster in this short item. The Festival opens with two world premieres of new compositions setting one of our foremost poet’s work to music as part of a choral event on Friday 12 June. Jude Tzuke will be the
headline act on the last Saturday 20 June, and St Thomas’ have a very special partner event as part of their Becket celebrations which we are sure you will find irresistible.
How readers can find out more
Acts will be announced on:
www.thegapfestival.org
Facebook and Twitter @TheGapFestival
Instagram @thegapfestival20
Tickets will be on sale in April via the website and at The Care Hub in Goring Arcade.
The Trustees: Geoff Brown, Colin Reeves, Heather Dunthorne, Ron Bridle, Rebecca Joisce, Jane Dipple, Caroline Hitch
January 2020
