Marsden to go car free for jazz festival
Peel Street Parade – photo: Chris Turner
Marsden’s high street will close to traffic during this weekend’s jazz festival to allow performances to take place on three outdoor stages.
Over 130 hours of live music is taking place in the Pennine village this weekend at 26 venues, including over 70 free events.
The festival organisers have got permission to close a stretch of Peel Street between 10am and 4pm on Saturday 10 October, allowing the return of a stage outside the 19th century Mechanics Hall for the first time since 2012.
Parts of Weirside and Market Place will also be closed on Saturday and Sunday so that audiences can safely watch performances in the Marquee on the
Bridge.
And the historic bandstand in Marsden Park is set to become the youth stage for this year’s festival, with teenage musicians from across Yorkshire performing over ten hours of live music at the venue.
The park will also be home to an artisan market for the first time this year, with over 20 stalls selling goods ranging from cupcakes and cheese to coffee and clothes.
Festival Producer Barney Stevenson said: “We’re really pleased that, after a two year break, there will be bands performing outside the Mechanics Hall during this year’s festival.
“Many people have missed live music in this location so we’ve arranged to get permission from the council to close a stretch of Peel Street between 10am and 4pm on Saturday to ensure the safety of the audience.
“We’ll also have performances on two other outdoor stages – the bridge over the River Colne and the bandstand in the park – so you won’t be able to escape the sound of live jazz music wherever you are in Marsden.
“Plus they’ll be an artisan market in Marsden Park so festival goers can choose whether to browse the stalls, play on the swings, or simply sit and enjoy the music in the bandstand.”
The Saturday parade will once again be the centrepiece of this year’s Marsden Jazz Festival, which is being supported by Arts Council England and Kirklees Council.
Visitors being encouraged to make their own flamboyant kazoo horns and join in, and over 170 people attended kazoo workshops in the village last month.
The parade will be led by Cumbrian street band BLAST Furness and a moving scrap metal sculpture, the Hurly Burly, which wowed visitors at last year’s festival will be bringing his sister, the Beast, along this year.
The Hurly Burly and the Beast – a pesky dragon who can’t resist playing with the audience – have both been made by local sculptor Dave Young.
This year’s headline acts include legendary saxophonist Jean Toussaint, New Orleans-based clarinettist Evan Christopher, and ‘Jazz Instrumentalist of the Year’ Arun Ghosh, who are all performing at the Mechanics Hall.
Other venues include the three outdoor stages, 13 pubs, clubs and bars, two cafes and one former cowshed.
More details are available at www.marsdenjazzfestival.com
Author: Jude Gidney - Editor
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