7 Great Festivals To Attend In & Around Wrexham
Wrexham and the surrounding area has plenty to offer in terms of festivals and fun events for all the family. Whether you’re a music geek, food lover or a literature fanatic, there will be something for you to attend that meets your interests. We’ve put together a list of 7 festivals taking place this year that you might be interested in.
FOCUS Festival
Wrexham’s FOCUS festival is an annual music festival that takes place in various venues throughout the area. Throughout its 7 year run the festival has continued to grow in popularity, and is anticipating a record-breaking attendance of 7,000 people this year. This popularity is no surprise when you consider the reviews the festival has gotten. Blogger From The Margins called it ‘a brilliant unforgettable afternoon’, while music website Drowned In Sound labelled it ‘a resounding success’.
Over 200 bands are featured across the 3 day event – previous performers have included the likes of Slaves, Kids In Glass Houses, Charlotte Church and Catfish & The Bottlemen – and aims to showcase all the wonderful talent that we have among us in Wales.
There is also Interactive Industry Sessions, stand-up comedy, arts events and film screenings on offer.
Don’t miss out on this year’s FOCUS festival which is taking place from 11th-13th May!
Wrexham Food & Drink Festival
But it’s not just musical festivals that Wrexham has to offer, with the Food & Drink festival being another option. This is another large popular event, with last year’s turnout reaching around 6,000 people.
With the festival being organised by Nightingale House Hospice, not only do you get to discover some great local food and support the community, but all the money raised will be going to a great cause.
The two-day event sets out to promote local and nationally produced food and drink, but also gives attendees the chance to participate in workshops and watch demonstrations – this year’s festival will see the return of Sean Wilson, who will be leading one of these demonstrations.
In addition, you get to enjoy some live music!
The festival will take place on the 13th and 14th of May this year.
Wrexham Carnival Of Words
If the art of literature is more your thing, then be sure to check out the Wrexham Carnival of Words.
Founded just two years ago, this festival lasts one week and aims to promote reading and writing for people of all ages throughout the community.
The Carnival of Words welcomes a variety of guests, which this year will include writers such as Joanne Harris, Aled Lewis Evans and Barbara Erskine. You’ll also be able to enjoy performances from talents such as Gail Young and Alys Conran.
For an extra bit of fun, poets are welcome to take part in a ‘Performance Poetry Relay’, whereby they will read a poem and then pass the baton onto the next poet!The 2017 festival will be taking place from Saturday 29th April to Saturday 6th May at a range of venues including: Alyn Waters Community Park; Catrin Finch Centre; Glyndwr University; Saith Seren; Eagles Meadow; Wrexham Library; Gwersyllt Community Resource Centre and the Yale Campus of Coleg Cambria.
Tickets cost £25 and are available from Wrexham Library and the local Waterstones.
North Wales Beer and Cider Festival
Hosted by CAMRA (Campaign For Real Ale), the North Wales Beer and Cider Festival is a relatively new festival but still definitely worth going to.
You will get to try real ciders, ales and perries, as well as enjoy live music, hot and cold food, and a tombola and raffle.
Why not pop down to the festival on Friday 19th and Saturday 20th May at the Centenary Club? Tickets cost £5 on the door.
Wrexham Street Festival
Rather than taking place annually, the Wrexham Street Festival is a regular event that features street food, fair ground rides, and a range of fun things to do as well as showing what local businesses have to offer.
The festival was founded in May 2015 and was met with magnificent feedback from the local community. Take a look at the 4.8 star rating on their Facebook page if you don’t believe us!
The Street Festival usually takes place on the last Saturday of every month in Wrexham town centre.
And there are a couple of good ones just down the road in Llangollen, too…
Llangollen Fringe Festival
The Llangollen Fringe Festival is celebrating it’s 20th year this year, so why not pop down between the 14th and 23rd of July and join the fun?
The Fringe celebrates music, dance, film and art all in one place. It attracts visitors from all over Wales and the rest of the UK, the festival has grown significantly from its humble beginnings to an incredibly successful annual event, now mainly taking place at the 300-seat theatre at Llangollen’s town hall.
The location of the festival is also perfect for exploring the picturesque town of Llangollen and is great for checking out it’s cafes and restaurants – you might even want to go for a ride on the steam train.
Llangollen International Music Eisteddfod
This one doesn’t really need explaining. The Musical Eisteddfod takes place every year, and is well known throughout Wales and other areas throughout the UK.
The Eisteddfod has been running every year since 1947, and takes place during the second week of July (meaning this year it will commence on the 3rd and conclude on the 9th). It showcases over 4,000 singers and dancers from all over the world and has a massive 50,000 visitors each year.
It’s also had it’s fair share of famous performers, with artists like Katherine Jenkins, James Galway, Bryn Terfel and Montserrat Caballe all having performed at the Sunday Evening Gala Concert.
The Eisteddfod’s glowing reviews demonstrate just how much of an impact it has. One visitor called it ‘a must do in a lifetime for the music lover’, while another stated it was ‘a totally immersive experience you won’t forget’.
This is really not an event to be missed.