44 Arts & Culture
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Summer Festivals in Nottingham By Pa Modou Faal
2020 just like 1918 would be a year that will go down in the annals of specific history of humanity. Since its declaration into a pandemic by WHO, COVID-19 has been ravaging the entire world with high death tolls, mass infections, over stretched medical facilities, economic degradation and widespread fear factor. Another hard-hit important part of life by the pandemic has been our social activities. Annually, this time of the year, the City of Nottingham joins thousands of cities globally to appease its residents with wonderful activities and outdoor festivals; but this year has been turned out to be different. This highlight features how the City of Nottingham would have presented herself to residents and visitors alike during the summer. Sadly, the Nottingham Beach and Riverside Festival have been called off by the City Council based on rules and regulations geared towards curbing the spread of the maiden Corona Virus pandemic. Evidently, the maintenance and observance of social distancing during such festivals, will be practically impossible hence the cancellation for this year’s commemorations. The Riverside Festival which attracts more than 200,000 people over a three-day period annually, would have celebrated its 40th anniversary this year. Also, the Old Market Square which used to play host to the Nottingham Beach Festival, has been transformed into a place of relaxation and rendezvous. Both activities have been deferred to 2021. The Robin Hood Festival would have attracted hundreds of thousands of people all over Nottinghamshire which usually provides a famous week-long fun for families. The Festival offers numerous activities for children to wonder around in the nature as well as discover the forest. To entertain people above the age of 15, the organisers offer storytelling, archery, sword-fighting, comedy, magic trick and other adventures to make the week extraordinary. Nottingham summer would not be the same without the Nottingham Carnival. The Victoria Embankment
would have been a very busy place during the summer but specifically on the day of the carnival where people from different walks of life would have converged around the beautiful scenery of the area. The daylong live carnival which usually starts and ends with live performances, has been held in a rather unusual way; through online with people attending via Facebook live, YouTube live and Zoom. The organisers prepared with live DJs, online performances, video clips of past carnivals, Virtual Parade with over 100 costumes and dancers and with many more. The famous Splendour Festival is one of those activities which should never be missed for any reason because of its’ line up. This family festival offers amazing performances, activities and culinary experiences in the beautiful setting of Wollaton Hall and Deer Park. This year, The Vamps, Sleeper, Becky Hill, Supergrass and many other would have turned up to entertain the Nottingham people, sadly not anymore in 2020. Patching Festival of Art, Craft and Photography 2020 is a special Nottingham event where artists, photographers and makers spend one day in celebration to Art and Design. This Festival was meant to take place in Nottinghamshire Countryside with more than 250 artists and craft makers with a view to helping them sell or simply demonstrate their works. The cherry on top is the hands-on-workshops organised by the artists to showcase their methods and tactics to be used during the creation of their work. Lastly, The Belvoir Flower and Garden Festival cannot be missed from this list as this inspirational event compounds picnic with some music, strawberries and cream. The set lies in the beautiful Belvoir Castle Garden with a lake and many parks. This festival is perfect for gardening lovers as anything related to improving garden, garden furniture and sculpture could be found there; with guest speakers present to answer questions.
