In What's On

This summer, a curious fox called Farrah will visit Gloucester as she travels across the country to explore high streets and the people who love and look after them.

Farrah arrives in Gloucester on Saturday 1 July, when she will be welcomed to the city by Sabrina, the Spirit of the River Severn and embodiment of Gloucester’s heritage and spirit. Together they will discover and celebrate what makes Gloucester special.

Farrah is a 5-metre mechanical puppet who will bring a touch of carnival to the city. Taller than a double-decker bus, she is animated by two puppeteers from the inside. Farrah has been designed by Tony Mason and fabricated by artists of Emergency Exit Arts.

Sabrina is a giant walk-about puppet that has been co-created with local groups and artists in collaboration with puppet makers Thingumajig Theatre. 

As the puppets move through the city, Farrah will be given gifts from different community groups and bring people together in a magical street carnival.

The parade will travel from Kings Square to Westgate Street, the heart of Gloucester’s Cathedral Quarter High Street Heritage Action Zone. Farrah and Sabrina will be accompanied by bands, roller skaters, dancers and creatures of the river.  

The route will be decorated to celebrate the rich wildlife and myths of the River Severn, with artwork adorning catenaries (wires above the street) and in shop windows.

Alongside music and performance, the parade will feature the swapping of gifts between the new friends, including a performance by a youth brass band, a dance by a hip-hop group, and a ‘stars of Westgate’ fabric art installation.

This event has been devised by Historic England and Emergency Exit Arts with Artistic Director, Manuela Benini, in partnership with Gloucester City Council, Art Shape, Strike A Light, and local partners who have collaborated with local residents in Gloucester. It is part of Hi! Street Fest, a landmark nation-wide commission with Emergency Exit Arts (EEA) and the exciting culmination of Historic England’s major cultural programme across England’s high streets, supported using public funding by Arts Council England

Harriet West, Gloucester Hi! Street Fest Project Manager said: “Gloucester is a wonderful mixture of the ancient and the new – it’s what gives the city its unique character. This event will show how Gloucester goes all out to welcome its guests. We love to share our talent, friendliness, diversity, and spellbinding stories and legends.

“As host puppet, Sabrina is the embodiment of the River Severn, which has formed, sustained and shaped the city of Gloucester since its foundation by the Romans in 49AD.  Sabrina is a wonderful puppet who has really come alive with her movement possibilities – she will be a regular visitor at the city’s events and festivals.”

Councillor Richard Cook, leader of Gloucester City Council, said: “This will be a fantastic event and really help to highlight everything that is being done to restore and regenerate one of our city’s most historic streets. Westgate boasts over 70 listed buildings and the Cathedral Quarter project (HSHAZ) is bringing many of those historic buildings back into use, enabling cultural events and activities, and improving the street with new planting, lighting and seating.”

Ellen Harrison, Head of Creative Programmes and Campaigns at Historic England, said: “Hi! Street Fest in Gloucester is going to be a huge event and a fantastic celebration of the city. This joyous community event will bring so many people together in the vibrant performances, or for a day out to see this wonderful spectacle. It’s the perfect way to celebrate the revitalisation of the historic heart of Gloucester.”

Daniel Bernstein, CEO of Emergency Exit Arts, said: “Emergency Exit Arts has been co-creating with communities for 43 years. We are loving working on this important national project in close partnership with Historic England. Hi! Street Fest has given hundreds of local people new opportunities in each place to get engaged in putting these events on in their high street and help make a real long-term difference to their place.

“We are so excited to bring spectacle in the puppet form of Farrah, but also excited about the development opportunities for local people to put on more events in their place. In each place, we have trained community producers, developed carnival bands and helped each place determine their own special host mascot puppet who we hope will make appearances for years to come. This is what EEA does best: enabling people, enhancing places and astonishing audiences.”

The Hi! Street Fest street carnival route through Gloucester

Festivities and performance start in Kings Square at 15.15 with local bands, dance groups and performers to build the excitement for the puppets’ arrival.

Sabrina will set off from The Folk of Gloucester at Westgate at 15.40 led by the Town Crier. She will walk to Kings Square through the Oxbode.

Sabrina will meet Farrah the fox at 16.00 at Kings Square and welcome her to Gloucester. A young people’s brass band will play to set them on their way.

The two puppets will then lead a procession back through the city, receiving gifts along the way:

  • At Kings Square they will receive a gift of youth and diversity from hip hop dance group Your Next Move
  • At the cross they will receive the gift of a performance celebrating the Abundance of the River Severn from Art Shape
  • As they walk through the city the bells of St Mary de Crypt and St Michael’s Tower will ring
  • They will be met at the steps of the Shire Hall and a spoken word performance from local residents and a fantastic fabric art installation ‘Westgate Stars’
  • Their final destination will be the Cathedral Close for a finale party at the Cathedral

Steampunks of Gloucester, Severn Roller Derby skaters, and ambitions dance will all feature in the parade, and Gloucester River Trust and Canals Trust will provide workshops about the conservation of water and river health.

Gloucester Cathedral Quarter High Street Heritage Action Zone

Conservation-led regeneration is making Gloucester’s Cathedral Quarter a vibrant place to live, work and visit. Historic buildings and shopfronts are being restored, including the recently completed former Meek’s shoe shop, and upper floors are being brought back into use as homes and business premises.

A local cultural programme, created in collaboration with local arts and cultural organisations, runs alongside the regeneration and celebrates the city’s unique heritage in exciting ways – from Historic Gloucester in Lego to ’Windows through Time’ a light installation hi-lighting the architecture of Westgate Street.

Hi! Street Fest

Hi! Street Fest is Historic England’s largest and final commission as part of the High Streets Heritage Action Zones’ Cultural Programme, the widest-reaching, community-led arts and heritage programme for the public that has ever been organised. It is led by Historic England in partnership with Arts Council England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund to revitalise high streets across England.

Hi! Street Fest is an ambitious project, aiming to bring together people and place to support bright futures for high streets. Across the country, Hi! Street Fest will engage over 1,000 people in the development of these events, with hours of community participation through outreach and workshops.

High Streets Heritage Action Zones’ Cultural Programme

The High Streets Heritage Action Zones’ Cultural Programme is drawing people to their high streets, changing their perceptions of their local areas and helping them to feel more part of their community. To date it has reached 180,000 people and counting.  

As a result of attending previous cultural events, 66% of audiences feel more part of their community and 83% of people feel more positive that the high street is a place where they can experience culture and arts.

This project aims to reimagine the high street, attract visitors and bring people together to celebrate each high street’s different culture. Our research found that 64% of audiences said previous cultural activity as part of this programme was the main reason they visited their high street, and that 80% of audiences visited local shops, cafes and businesses before or after they attended the cultural programme activity.

Previous events have resulted in 79% of people having a greater sense of pride of the high street and local area. Hi! Street Fest aims to continue this work, encouraging the long-term development of locally-driven creativity in each area and increasing opportunities for people to visit and to engage with their high streets.

📷 Hi! Street Fest 2023. A programme of magical street events, bringing people together to celebrate what’s special about our high streets. Visiting each location will be a large mechanical puppet of a curious fox called Farrah.

In Gloucester, Farrah will be joined by Sabrina, spirit of the River Severn, a very special host puppet created by the community. © Historic England

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