Wessex Arts Fest
Saturday 9th May 2026
Wessex Arts Fest is an event being held at the Thomas Hardye School from 10am-3pm on Saturday 9th May. It is open to all (adults and children) and will be a day celebrating music, drama and dance. There will be performances from our young people, workshops, activities and refreshments (inc BBQ!).
Best of all, it is completely FREE!
Download the complete programme for the day here.
The day is open to all, and we hope that lots of families from the local area will join us for a fun celebration of the arts. To see a summary video of our festival last year, click here.
See below for details of the Performances, Workshops and Drop-In sessions that you can be a part of on the day.
Best of all, it is completely FREE!
Download the complete programme for the day here.
The day is open to all, and we hope that lots of families from the local area will join us for a fun celebration of the arts. To see a summary video of our festival last year, click here.
See below for details of the Performances, Workshops and Drop-In sessions that you can be a part of on the day.
Performance Programme
Performances will happen in the theatre, in the spine ‘Live Lounge’, in the outside ‘Open Mic’ area and in PA1 (drama studio). The theatre will house a refreshment area with tables & chairs, and will have a rolling series of performances taking place on the stage, in a slightly less formal setting than a ‘normal’ concert. The ‘Live Lounge’ will have some small Thomas Hardye ensembles performing and will also be open for students to book a performance slot as an individual or small group. The ‘Open Mic’ area will host some of the Hardyes rock bands and also be open for students to book a performance slot as an individual or small group. The TH drama and performing arts groups will perform in PA1.
Sign Up to perform here: If your child has been invited to perform in a music or drama group, the online sign-up form can be found here Sign up for solo/small group/rock band performance in the Live Lounge or Open Mic area here |
Workshop Programme
There will be a series of workshops (most of which are open to all - adults and children!), thoughout the day. Please sign up in advance to book a place on a workshop as places for some will be limited.
Click here to see the FULL WORKSHOP PROGRAMME Click here to sign up to take part in a workshop Scratch Orchestra Workshop
We will be putting together a performance of Aaron Copland's Rodeo-Hoedown. You can hear the piece and find the music for all levels (pre-grade 1, grades 1-3 and grades 4/5+) here. Please print your music in advance and bring it with you on the day! Street Band Workshop
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Drop-in Sessions
From 10am - 2:30pm, there will be the opportunity to Come and Try a variety of instruments. No need to book, just drop in and have a go! A great way to see which instrument you might like to play in the future!
From 2pm - 2:30pm we will be running an open-to-all Ceilidh Dance session accompanied by the TH folk band. The more the merrier! Just come along and join in! From 1:30pm - 2pm we will be creating a fun Street Band (hopefully with some dancers joining us too!). Ideally we'd like instrumentalists to sign up to take part in this in advance, but we'd also like some people to join us by adding some samba drums to this band - anyone is welcome to come along and join in! |
