The Winter Droving 2017 in Penrith
Gemma Gibb, Associate Editor
We just love Penrith’s Winter Droving festival which raises a toast to the change in seasons and its rural heritage.
It’s a brilliant time of year to take an alternative Lake District trip for this completely out of the ordinary total town takeover by the clever cultural captains at Eden Arts.
Masks are compulsory as Penrith is transformed for one magical day into a spectacular wonderland of outdoor arts, music, mayhem, fire and masquerade with an always impressive line-up of performance on stages and streets across the town.
A fire and light procession led by the blistering brass and beats of The Baghdaddies sees masked torch bearers “drove” colossal animal lanterns through the streets at dusk. One of our favourite features is the bonkers Drovers Cup competition which includes Pint Passing, Egg Throwing, Sausage Eating (Cumberland of course) and Hay Bale Racing.
A stonking music line-up includes “dance carnage and songs from the heart” from Dansi and festival faves Dope Sick Fly. There’s melodic indie from We Are Quasars, “rock and soul” from The Black Guards and big band sounds from The Balkanics. Dancing in the streets continues with high octane Boom Dang and Blast Furnace.
Curious characters and top notch street performance includes charming shows in Little Fawn Caravan, Same Difference Arts Periscope revealing unexplored realms above our heads, bonkers fortune telling from Madame Sybilis and explore what happens when two divided people meet in a virtual space in Other Half Productions’ Your Place or Mine.
Expect to see sights that will blow other outdoor arts experiences out of the water. Join in, dance and, above all, smile and laugh. A lot. With artisan local food and drink galore, The Winter Droving is hands down one of the best events of the year.
