Tuesday, 27 May 2008

Arts festival is streets ahead
thanks to cottages4you

The team behind Hebden Bridge Arts Festival is celebrating after securing vital sponsorship support for its emerging street programme. The developers behind Croft Mill Apartments encouraged their main agent, cottages4you, to sponsor the festival at the eleventh hour, and they were eager to get involved.

The street programme is an important way of involving everyone in the festival and attracting new audiences, particularly young people. However the street events don’t generate their own running costs and have to be heavily subsidised. Thanks to generous support from cottages4you the festival will be able to make a big impact on the streets of the town on Saturday June 28.

Croft Mill Self Catering Apartments proprietor Josephine Anderson came to Hebden Bridge some two years ago and identified a gap in the market for quality serviced accommodation in the town centre. The newly converted mill on Albert Street comprises twelve contemporary self-contained units, which retain many original features and are in a prime location overlooking the marina.

“The sheer variety of entertainment which attracts a diverse and enthusiastic audience makes the Arts Festival synonymous with the Hebden Bridge vibe” according to Josephine. “I was really eager to get involved, so I convinced my agent cottages4you to sponsor the street entertainment, which is free and will include all - young and not so young - in the festival programme”.

Programme Director for Yorkshire-based cottages4you, Michael Dean commented, "cottages4you is delighted to offer its support. Events and activities such as the Arts Festival add an extra dimension to our customers’ holidays, and the eclectic nature of both the Arts Festival and Hebden Bridge itself is sure to attract many potential customers to Croft Mill. We’re certain everyone will get a huge amount of enjoyment from the street programme."

Rebecca Yorke, festival administrator added “This is excellent news for the Festival. The street entertainment is an important part of what we do, as all members of our community, including those who might not normally attend arts events, can enjoy it. This investment by cottages4you and Croft Mill Apartments will enable us to put on high-quality, free street entertainment without putting additional pressure on the Festival finances.”

cottages4you is a leading provider of self-catering holiday accommodation throughout the UK and overseas. To book Croft Mill visit the cottages4you website at www.cottages4you.com

Postal booking for the 40-plus performances and workshops is now open. The box office on Albert Street opens on June 14.

The 2008 Festival runs from Friday, June 27 to Sunday, July 13.

If you’d like to be kept in touch with what’s planned, e-mail hbfestival@gmail.com or visit www.hebdenbridge.co.uk/festival.