Melbourne Festival Guide

We are looking forward to this years Melbourne Festival Art & Architecture Trail on 17th & 18th September 2016! It doesn’t seem long since the boards were stored away, the balloons and bunting taken down as 2015’s Melbourne Festival was over, the good news is time has flown and plans for the TWELFTH Melbourne Festival are well underway and surprisingly soon it will be time for the next Trail!

During the Art & Architecture Trail on 17th & 18th September visiting professional artists are hosted in rooms made available in private houses, which are not usually open to the public. In the £5 Trail Guide are lists of venues with the name and speciality of the artists and their contact details.

All of the work on the Trail is original, for sale and the artists and makers all accompany their work and many demonstrate their skills. There will be paintings, photography, pottery, sculpture and jewellery – in fact something for every taste and pocket. Each year we feature a mix of new artists and lots of old favourites including Barbara Bagley with her Melbourne paintings. Each year more and more artists apply to exhibit. This year we have had a huge number of entries from some amazingly talented artists which made it a very hard job to select who can be fitted in and who can’t.

Most of the houses on the Trail are of historic significance and architectural information is contained in the Trail Guide. Hopefully having visited the Trail visitors will be tempted to return to take another look at some of these heritage sites.

The Art and Architecture Trail consists of easy-walking loops around the central streets of Melbourne. The Trail can be started at any point, but you will need a Trail Badge and a Trail Guide to enter the buildings which will cost £5. The Trail Guide consists of a map of Melbourne with Festival sites marked. The Trail Badge is a pass to get into all the houses and halls free of charge. The public streets are all wheelchair-friendly, but some of the buildings, particularly the smaller private homes are not. A special Easy Access Trail marked on the Trail Guide for visitors with restricted mobility so that visitors can decide which venues they are physically able to access. One of the charms of the Trail is that many of the artists are in private homes, visitors follow the Trail at their own risk and we cannot accept liability for accidents or loss of property.

This year Derbyshire is celebrating it’s culture and heritage. At Melbourne Festival we are celebrating with a Made in Derbyshire theme at Melbourne Assembly Rooms featuring 12 Derbyshire Artists including Nicki Dennett, Cheryl Wilbraham and Kerri Pratt. Many of the artists will be demonstrating and all will be sharing the secrets of their techniques with visitors. The other Derbyshire Artists along the Trail will also be highlighted.

Families are specially catered for with a special, safe area for young children with plenty to amuse them and Art Exhibitions showing work from the local schools and playgroups. Inspired by the traditional tale of The Wind in the Willows look out for Toad, Ratty, Badger and friends. Parade at 3.30 each afternoon.

Don’t miss the Melbourne Festival Emerging Talent Exhibition. The Emerging Talent Award for artists under 25 was launched at the 2014 Festival. The shortlisted artists will be exhibited on the Trail and the £500 Emerging Talent Award will be presented on Saturday 17th September, The work will be exhibited at The Athenaeum in Potter Street so come and see if you agree with the judges!

Back by popular demand on the Trail this year are the Food Festival and Food Court. Food is also available at the Art Cafe, which is located with the Made in Derbyshire Exhibition at Melbourne Assembly Rooms, along with Melbourne’s great cafes, restaurants and pubs and the popup church and charity tea shops!

The Busk Stops are now so popular we have THREE Music Marquees outside the Senior Citizen Centre, Food Festival and Assembly Rooms there is live music from 12-5 on Saturday and 12-4 on Sunday – it’s great to see so many families and young people enjoying themselves.

Finally the classic cars drew lots of jealous looks last year and the car procession was very popular. This year you will find the Classic Cars in the idyllic setting of the Carriage Circle at Melbourne Hall so come and see the Cars, admire the view and visit the artists in Melbourne Hall Billiard Room.

Parking is available at Melbourne School at a small charge in aid of the PTA and parking is free on Castle Lane Industrial Estate and in Melbourne village centre. It is very busy in the centre and we suggest parking a little way out of the centre – nowhere is more than 10 minutes from the Trail!