Birmingham Arts Fest

It has become a bit of a tradition that every year I go with my parents and Nikki to the arts festival in Birmingham. We love to spend the afternoon strolling around and taking in the variety of entertainment that is on offer and having lunch out as a treat.

Art on the Rails

This is a unique way to display your work! Each person has a little table and the rails behind them to make a mini showcase of their art. There is loads of interesting stuff if you can afford to be buying prints and paintings to adorn your home with :)

Sculptures and Street performers

While you are busy taking in all the main events, don't forget to keep an eye out for the hidden gems. There are often individuals doing mini performances that shouldn't be missed. The guy in the blue jacket below was following people round and pulling faces behind there head... hilarious for the spectator! There were also some beautiful sculptures made out of gardeny sorts of things.

The Arts Market

 This really is a feast for the eyes and loads of fun for anyone that is into performing arts and likes to be creative. There was pottery, dance classes, theatre groups, performances, live bands, mini art classes for kids and plenty of other stuff to get involved in. My favourite stall was the 'Giant Colouring' where you can order a black and white piece of art and colour it in yourself :) great idea for my future classes to colour in a mural for the wall!

La Musique

Looking through the Arts fest guide, there was such an assortment of musicians in Birmingham last weekend; definitely something for everyone! From Heavy metal to a full on orchestra :) We were sat in Chamberlain Square enjoying a drink and thought we might as well stay for the next band. I couldn't believe it when my sister recognised the lead singer from school! Check out her band Exodus Calling on Facebook here.

My favourite artist was the indie-folk band we watched in Symphony Hall called 'The Lights'. Check them out in my rubbishy video below or listen to them here.

Olympic Oogling

For those who couldn't drag themselves away from the Paralympics for more than five minutes, there was massive screen to watch in Victoria Square. Everyone was sat by the fountains or in the deck chairs, chilling watching the Paralympics in between checking out the arts fest. If we had stayed until the evening, we could have watched the closing ceremony on the screen with everybody!

If you live close to Birmingham you should definitely go next year!! Just a couple of hours of arty goodness :)