Four Winds Festival Media Release: Buy tickets online to Rutland spectacular to win hotel stay!

 

 Media release: Four Winds Festival 2011

9 June 2011 – for immediate use

 Buy tickets online to Rutland spectacular to win hotel stay!

 As the Four Winds Festival on 25th and 26th June at Rutland Water draws closer, organisers have announced a competition for online ticket buyers to win a two-night stay at the stunning 17th century Best Western Normanton Park Hotel.   

 The exclusive competition has been created for online advance ticket holders of the evening outdoor theatrical performance, “The Way The Winds Blow.”  All online advance ticket holders will automatically be entered to win the chance for two nights for two at the luxury hotel overlooking Rutland Water.  

 500 local and international artists, 100 boats and an 11 metre high Osprey puppet combine to tell the story of Rutland Water in The Way the Winds Blow which starts at 6.30pm. Hannah Gordon, the magical voice of The Way the Winds Blow will be randomly picking the competition winners for two sets of two night stays, courtesy of the Best Western Normanton Park Hotel after the evening performance of Sunday 26th June.

 Tickets online are selling well and organisers are urging prospect ticket buyers to secure their tickets in advance to see the performance on Rutland Water never before seen on such a grand scale. Tickets can be purchased now from www.fourwindsfestival.co.uk or www.wegottickets.com.

 Advance ticket holders will also be given priority into the audience area so guests can settle on the banks of the south shore as the atmosphere builds for the start of the performance. Gates open from 5.30pm.

 Chris Baldwin of Spiral Theatre is the show producer with Peter Davis, Head of Music at Oakham School as the musical director.

 Arts for Rutland, the organisation leading, promoting and supporting the arts in Rutland have joined forces with a number of supporters to bring the Four Winds Festival to the East Midlands.

 Prior to the evening shows on the banks of Rutland Water visitors can enjoy for free a range of family based activities at the Four Winds Festival. From 12noon to 4pm, workshops and hands-on experiences are on offer with puppet making, music and wind chime production, sailing opportunities and views of the Rutland Water osprey nests.

 The Four Winds Festival, incorporating The Way the Winds Blow is part of the Igniting Ambition Festival 2011, a Cultural Olympiad programme in the East Midlands and has attracted funding from Arts Council England, Legacy Trust UK and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). MJE Productions are the lead sponsor. 

 Tickets for The Way the Winds Blow are on now sale priced at £5 for concessions, £10 for adults and a family ticket for five guests is £25 and available online at www.fourwindsfestival.co.uk.

 The latest festival news is also shared on the festival’s twitter account @4windsfestival.

 Notes to Editors:

For further information, images and interviews please contact Holland Alexander, the Four Winds Festival PR team on 0116 2616 6867 or email to louise@hollandalexander.com or claire@hollandalexander.com.

 .              Arts for Rutland

Arts for Rutland is a Registered Charity and is committed to leading, promoting and supporting the arts in Rutland.  It consists of a committee and representatives of many arts organisations and individuals as would like to be involved. 

The Arts include, film, theatre, music, comedy, dance, visual arts, creative writing and any other art form which the organisation recognises.  Arts for Rutland seek to promote the wealth of enterprise and activity in the county by whatever means possible.

 2.              Igniting Ambition as part of the Cultural Olympiad Programme

The Four Winds Festival is part of Igniting Ambition, a Cultural Olympiad programme in the East Midlands which invests in projects and people that take the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games as their inspiration to create once in a lifetime cultural opportunities for audiences and communities.

 Igniting Ambition is funded by Legacy Trust UK an independent charity set up to create a cultural and sporting legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the European Regional Development Fund and the East Midlands Development Agency with the support of Arts Council England and many others.

 Legacy Trust UK is an independent charity set up to create a cultural and sporting legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games across the UK and is also a principal funder of the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival. The trust is funded by a £40 million endowment from the Big Lottery Fund (£29m), the Department for Culture Media and Sport (£6m) and Arts Council England (£5m).

 Legacy Trust UK supports a wide range of innovative cultural and sporting activities that celebrate the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and will leave a lasting legacy in communities throughout the United Kingdom.

 Legacy Trust UK is a principal funder of the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival 2012. The Trust is funded by a £40 million endowment from the Big Lottery Fund (£29m), Department for Culture Media and Sport (£6m) and Arts Council England (£5m).

 3.              Anglian Water – Rutland Water Park, Festival location

Set in 4,200 acres of open countryside, the water park is the central attraction in England’s smallest county of Rutland and offers activities for all the family, including cycling, bird watching, fishing, sailing and other watersports.

 There is also a nature reserve managed with the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust. In the summer the reserve is home to several pairs of breeding ospreys. In 2001 it became the first place these magnificent birds of prey had successfully bred in England for 150 years.  

Work to expand and improve the nature reserve at Rutland is an example of Anglian Water’s commitment to the environment. This is reinforced by the company’s Love Every Drop manifesto, which includes commitments to cut carbon emissions and protect and enhance biodiversity.

4.  Chris Baldwin, Artistic Director and Playwright

Chris Baldwin (Artistic Director of Spiral www.spiraltheatre.co.uk) has written and directed 150 plays for theatres across Europe. He has also been guest director for theatre companies in England, Germany, Spain and Poland and gained an international reputation as a teacher of theatre practice.

 Chris is also a member of the European Working Group into the function and management of European Arts Festivals. He is a Professor of theatre direction at Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance in London.

 5. Peter Davis, Musical Director

Peter began his musical education as a chorister at Salisbury Cathedral returning as organ scholar in his gap year. He studied music at Cambridge University and as an organ scholar at St John’s College, and having graduated with a first-class music degree, he moved into the teaching profession. He became one of the youngest HMC Directors of Music at Haileybury in 2000, building up the school’s music until they won the BBC Songs of Praise title of School Choir of the Year in 2005. He moved to Oakham School as Director of Music in 2005, overseeing one of the largest school departments in the country.

 6. Best Western Normanton Park Hotel

Normanton Park Hotel offers a truly superb location, situated on the shores of Rutland Water, next to the world famous Normanton Church Museum. Rutland Water is Europe’s largest reservoir.

Normanton Park Hotel is the remains from the extensive manor and parkland created in the 1700’s by the Heathcote family. The Hotel Boasts excellent food, beautiful water view accommodation and attentive service. The perfect venue whatever the occasion, a weekend break, dinner for two or perfect wedding days.

Best Western Normanton Park Hotel: Rutland Water, South Shore, Rutland LE15 8RP.

Tel: 01780-720315 Fax: 01780-721086 Email: info@normantonpark.co.uk

ENDS