A brand new festival for High Wycombe!
High Wycombe Town Centre will be buzzing and bustling on Sunday 8 September, with a fun-packed day of free family entertainment, courtesy of Buckinghamshire Council’s ‘Wycombe Celebrates’ a brand-new festival for 2024.
Wycombe Celebrates is a programme of events taking place in the historic heart of the town, particularly focussed on the Guildhall, All Saints Parish Church and the High Street. It promises to be a cultural feast, with heritage walks, exhibitions, music, food and a wealth of interactive activities and workshops.
The main events start from next weekend and include:
- Two fascinating exhibitions that will be open all week in the run up to Wycombe Celebrates; The Revive and Thrive Visual Art Exhibition at the Wheatsheaf, High Street, High Wycombe, open from Saturday 31 August and international calligrapher Razwan Baig’s beautiful exhibition of Islamic Art at at The Guildhall, High Street, High Wycombe, open from Monday 2 September
- The Wycombe Celebrates festival day, Sunday 8 September, which includes;
- A stage with a full line-up of music, programmed by Wycombe Arts Centre, including local musicians playing their own music
- A diverse array of food stalls from around the world, each offering unique and mouth-watering dishes to tantalize the taste buds and give a flavour of different cultures and cuisines
- Storyteller Janina Vigur telling folk tales and fairy tales for all ages
- Heritage walks around the town
- A photography exhibition of Old Wycombe, also at the Wheatsheaf Inn
- Family artists workshops, making and designing patterns and your own bag
- ‘Come Sing and Celebrate’ singalong at All Saints Church
- ‘Kick a Goal’ with Wycombe Wanderers
- A ‘Jellyfish Theatre’ performance of ‘Wagon of Dragons’ at White Hart Street/Pauls Row
- Steel orchestra, Hart African Drumming and much more!
Wycombe Celebrates is a collaboration of many partners across the town and has been supported by £15,000 of funding from the High Wycombe Community Board and a grant from the Rothschild Foundation.
During Wycombe Celebrates, from 11am to 3pm the Charter Trustees of the Town of High Wycombe will be in the Oak Room, Queen Victoria Rd exhibiting the Mayoralty regalia of High Wycombe, including the Mayoral robes, weighing chair, and other historical artefacts usually only held in the Mayor’s Parlour, offering another chance during the festival for a special insight into the town’s heritage.
Clive Harriss is Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure. He said:
“This is a huge celebration of all things Wycombe and shines a wonderful light on the town. It promises to be a feast of culture, food and entertainment and a fantastic event for the whole community, with a real family feel. There’s a huge variety of activities and events and something for all ages. Although this event has been co-ordinated by Buckinghamshire Council, it’s been a real joint approach with local organisations and our Community Board and we are very grateful to everyone involved in staging this event, in particular the Rothschild Foundation for their generous funding. I urge everyone to come along and see what’s on offer; you won’t want to miss out on this brand new festival for Wycombe!”