This year’s Exmouth Festival ended with a flourish on Saturday, June 3, with West Country Traditions Day, held in The Strand.
A celebration of all things West Country – from music and dance to crafts and film, vintage vehicles and food and drink – there were town criers, shanty crews, morris dancers and more.
This year there was an expanded craft area to one side of The Strand. Various stalls showcased traditional skills, from spinning and weaving to woodwork, pottery and lobster pot making.
Organiser Derek Brooks described the craft area as the ‘missing part’ of the West Country Traditions Day ‘jigsaw’, and he was delighted with its popularity.
This year’s festival also proved a hit for many of the town’s art groups.
Exmouth Art Group’s festival exhibition – held on the first floor of Ocean during the festival week – was described as ‘a roaring success’.
There were more than 1,600 visitors to the exhibition of members’ work and artists-in-residence. In addition, there were children’s art related themes, with a display of pupils’ portraits from the Beacon Primary School, plus free children’s workshops, with support from the Norman Family Charity Trust and Exmouth arts manager Carla Hiley.
“The workshops, offered by Sam Wood from the Creation Station and textile artist Helen Plant, were popular,” said group manager Cath Ager. “It was brilliant to admire the artistic talents of a younger generation.”
There was also a high standard of work when Exmouth Ceramic Group (ECG) held its annual exhibition of ceramics and pottery as part of the festival.
“It was an opportunity for many visitors to see the work by our children’s classes led by Joy Davis, our adults’ pottery for pleasure classes led by Delia Pemberton, and classes for members of Rethink and Devon Recovery Learning,” said Doug Middleton, ECG’s chairman.
The theme for the exhibition was ‘Under the Sea’. Doug described the work as ‘wonderfully imaginative’.
“I was pleased to show some of our invited guests, including councillors, our exhibition as the standard was so high,” he said.
“This is all possible because we have our own special workshop with the right facilities for pottery making, glazing and firing.”
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