We are pleased to announce that the 2017 Children of Winchester Festival (COWfest) will be held on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th February, at the Tower at Kings' School.

This year, all workshops will be FREE, as will drop-in craft activities throughout the weekend!

So stay tuned for more details on workshops and performances, and information about how to book.

SEE YOU THERE!

Want to know what you can do at COWfest 2016?

Well, if you are aged 11 or older, there are three activities for you to try:

On Saturday 13th February, in the morning, you can have a go at Stage Fighting with Discarded Nut Theatre Company

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cowfest-2016-stage-fighting-workshop-ages-11-tickets-20994033720

In the afternoon, there's a variety of arts and crafts to sample with Art Stars

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cowfest-2016-arts-crafts-workshop-ages-11-tickets-20993936429

And on the morning of Sunday 14th, you can have a go at Songwriting and learn some Band Skills, with Winnall Rock School

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cowfest-2016-songwriting-and-band-skills-workshop-ages-11-tickets-20994118975

If you are aged from 7 to 11 years, then there's a free drama workshop for you on the afternoon of Saturday 13th February, with the University of Winchester HUB Youth Theatre

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cowfest-2016-drama-workshop-tickets-20993274449

And if you are aged between 5 and 10, then there's also an arts and crafts session for you with Art Stars, on the morning of Saturday 13th February

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cowfest-2016-arts-crafts-workshop-ages-5-10-tickets-20993873240

If you are a parent or carer with a toddler, then you won't miss out. There are three short sessions with Moo Music for you to enjoy on Sunday 14th February

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cowfest-2016-moosical-fun-1-tickets-20994209245

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cowfest-2016-moosical-fun-2-tickets-20994406836

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cowfest-2016-moosical-fun-3-tickets-20994500115

All ages are welcome to enjoy the performance Showcase at 1.30pm on Sunday 14th February

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cowfest-2016-showcase-tickets-20994781958

In short – there's something for everyone at COWfest 2016, so come along and join in the fun!

A BIG thank you to the supporters of COWfest:

Kings' School, Winchester, for hosting the event

Hampshire County Council for their grant support via Councillor Martin Tod (Winchester Westgate Division)

Sainsbury's Winchester for providing free fruit for all our volunteers and workshop participants at the festival

Scrapstore for providing recycled materials for the Arts and Crafts workshops

Park Corner Design for advice to our young volunteers

We really appreciate your help and support in this, the first year of COWfest. It has made this new community initiative possible, and we are very grateful!

COWfest 2016 tickets are now on sale via Eventbrite!

You can buy tickets for both workshops and the performance showcase, with affordable prices ranging from £0 to £5. Simply go to the relevant workshop or showcase entry on this site and click on the Eventbrite link.

Places are limited, so don't delay – sign up now to join in the fun, and get your February half-term off to a good start.

COWfest is the Children of Winchester Festival, and it will run for the first time in 2016! It's all happening on the weekend of 13th and 14th February, at the Tower Arts Centre at Kings' School. The aim of COWfest is to showcase local talent and bring new audiences to Winchester's youth arts providers, and to give children a chance to have a go at different creative activities through workshops. We also hope for local young people to be involved in planning and marketing the festival. We are starting small in 2016, but our aim is to develop the festival over the coming years and to make it a regular feature of Winchester's festival calendar.

Check out the details of workshops and performances as we post them here, and join in the fun!

If you are are aged 14+, you can volunteer to help at COWfest 2016 by completing a short online form here.