Big Arts Day Blog

So did you go to the Big Arts Day?

We really hope you did and that you had a great time doing the arts? We can’t get over how many of you did actually come – we think it may be as many as 25,000 over the day.

It certainly was another amazingly big day at Lydiard and I think we can safely say it was the biggest ever arts festival in Swindon. WOW we did it is all I can really say – that’s another must do ticked off my list then! I have known for years that we have the most amazing and talented community of artists, arts organisations, groups, schools and creative people in Swindon, and that if I could get them all together in one place we would have an amazing festival! I have no idea just how many Swindonians performed but it is definitely 1000’s and in every art form imaginable too.

It was great to see how well all the different groups got on and supported each other too. I saw kids rushing about from stage to stage to see each other, there really was something for everyone and everyone was there! Over 850 kids took part in the circus workshop and all the professional artists said what a wonderful day they’d had and asked to come back next year. Everyone I spoke to commented on the positive atmosphere and I knew we had really got it right when my eldest son said it wasn’t what he was expecting from a free council run event and he and his mates had had a great day!!

Although we were undoubtedly stretched for resources on the day the team did an amazing job and all incidents were dealt with swiftly and promptly. We reunited lost children and lost OAP’s and got folk home who had cars blocked in. The food outlets did a sterling job and the toilets just about survived. The biggest problem was the litter which a small team of folk tackled for most of Sunday. If we do it again I’m definitely getting better prepared for the mess.

And finally I have to thank everyone who helped to make the day such an unbelievable success my own staff team who were all amazing, the superstar Steve Causer, all my arts partners and friends and everyone who came along. In the words of Matt Holland “Swindon rocks!”