Wilfred Owen Festival opens in Oswestry
As a part of the centenary commemorations of World War One the Shropshire market town of Oswestry is to honour its most famous son and all those who have fallen in conflicts across the world.
The Wilfred Owen Festival is a festival of commemoration and remembrance taking place in the town from this month to November 17.
The festival is designed to coincide with and focus on the centenary of Wilfred Owen’s death and the centenary of Armistice Day, which fall just one week apart.
Born at Plas Wilmot in Oswestry in March 1893, Owen is widely regarded as one of the greatest English poets of the 20th century. He will be honoured with the unveiling of a new life-size bronze statue in the town’s Cae Glas Park on October 20.
The statue, which has been commissioned by Oswestry Town Council, is the only life-size statue to the war poet in the country and is the work of local artist and sculptor Tim Turner. It is being cast at the Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant based Castle Fine Arts Foundry.
Both the unveiling ceremony and the festival official launch night on October 19 will see performances from actor and fiddle player Thoren Ferguson who will be playing the Wilfred Owen violin. The violin is the creation of renowned Edinburgh based fiddle maker Steve Burnett who crafted the violin from a branch of an old sycamore tree found in the grounds of Craiglockhart Hospital where Owen was treated for shell shock in 1917 before returning to the frontline.
A wide range of events and performances will be taking place throughout the festival period starting with an artist’s trail in Oswestry showcasing work from professional and amateur artists on the theme of War on Peace.
Other events in the festival will feature poetry, drama, music, lectures, re-enactment, films, exhibitions and more.
A series of lectures will see local and nationally acclaimed authors and military historians exploring subjects linked to WW1 and Wilfred Owen. Dramatic productions will include performances of The Foresters House and The Accrington Pals by the local theatre group The LADS and a performance of the Edinburgh Fringe 2016 sell out production, 'The Unknown Soldier' by the Grist to the Mill Theatre Co will take place on November 5.
Television and radio broadcaster and poet Ian McMillan teams up with award winning photographer Ian Beesley who will use a 100 year old magic lantern to tell the tales of men and women who survived the war and grew up in an ever changing society.
An exhibition will be held at the town’s Memorial Hall from November 3-10, where memorabilia will be on show along with guides, films and re-enactments. Participants on varying days during the exhibition will include the Imperial War Museums Lives of WW1 project and the Western Front Association.
The festival will also host a range of musical events which encompass different genres including award winning band Harp and Monkey. Holy Trinity Church, where Wilfred Owen was baptised, hosts two choral pieces on November 3 and 10.
For all the details on the events, including dates, times, venues and tickets sales for the Wilfred Owen Festival visit wilfredowenoswestry2018.org.uk.
