It has been relatively quiet at Oxheys over the past few weeks, with residents on holiday or just taking a break and enjoying some of the sunshine – well, in between the Preston downpours! We might have to boil our water at the moment but at least there is plenty of it – no hosepipe bans for us! But as ‘summer’ starts to wind up, we start to crank back into life and prepare for the upcoming Lancashire Encounter that is due to hit Preston in a few weeks.
What is it? A pilot city-wide festival, due to take place over the weekend of 25-27 September and in preparation, we have extended the Open exhibition by an extra week to include that weekend. We will also be running Open Studios over that weekend, so everyone is welcome to drop in, see the exhibition, take a look around our old mill, take part in other activities and see some of the artists working in their studios.
Only some? Yes, because some will be in the city centre at another (as yet secret) location, ready to offer an Oxheys welcome there as well, with a pop-up exhibition and a selection of art and craft items made by local artists, for sale at affordable prices.
And as a special treat, we are also delighted to announce that Chelytherium will be joining us for a festival weekend residency and will be performing live!
Chelytherium is an experimental ambient music project, started in 2012, and consisting of Lytham-based musician Craig Miller. Armed with an electric guitar and various effects, Chelytherium creates atmospheric, layered soundscapes, as heard on the 2014 debut album, ‘Natural Light’. When playing live, the songs are recreated and expanded upon, and often accompanied by new, improvised material. The result is a unique performance, which can go from calm and soothing, to epic and evocative.
This is going to be a fantastic event and definitely one not to be missed. Do make sure to include Oxheys on your list of places to be during the Lancashire Encounter weekend.
More details will be published soon