YOUNG blood has been keeping Village Green festival fresh full of energy and ideas this year. At the same time, the young people involved in the Village Green Youth Forum, are gaining valuable experience as to what it is like to work on a huge professional production and all that goes with it, having taken part in all kinds of workshops and undertaking responsible roles to help bring the festival to life.

Echo:

At work - banner painting

A spokesman for Village Green said it has been lucky enough to have had the support of more than 40 young people aged between 12 - 18 years old, from across Southend, who have "given their time to help shape the festival and ensure its appeal for all ages".

Since February, the Youth Forum has met monthly to look at all aspects of staging an outdoor festival.

A Village Green spokesman said: "The young people involved have contributed ideas for the development and design of Village Green and helped with promotion.

"Workshops on technical specifications and requirements of staging, lighting and sound have given them a clear understanding of the huge amount of work that goes into an event such as Village Green. Professionals from the industry worked with the Youth Forum to explain how to meet artists and sponsors requirements and create a festival setting in line with branding specifications."

Village Green takes place on Saturday July 13, in Chalkwell Park, Chalkwell Avenue, Westcliff.

On the day members of the Youth Forum will work in various festival roles.

A team will be on digital and social media platforms to report live as the fun takes place and others will be involved as part of the production crew on the Oak Stage. This stage has been designed and developed by the Youth Forum in workshops over the past few months.

The Youth Forum has also programmed the stage and several Youth Forum members will play on it.

Chloe Payne is a member of the Youth Forum. She explained: "The Youth Forum is a group of young people who have been working together and have organised our own stage for Village Green. This included deciding the theme for our stage and designing and decorating props to match this, deciding who plays on the stage on the day and promoting our forum and stage, as well as the festival as a whole on social media.

"We will be working on different aspects of the stage and the festival on the day, whether that is with the sound and technical side or artist liaison and stage management and many other job roles."

Esme Taylor is the mother of Scarlett Taylor, a member of the Youth Forum and a rising young musician and songwriter who will be performing on the Oak Stage. Esme said: "I love what Metal have been working on and want to thank them for this experience. It really helps the children so much with college applications and so forth. "Scarlett recently got a place at The Brit School and in her interview she spoke about the work she is doing with Metal. I’m sure it helped her get her place!"

Youth involvement has been key to much of the planning for Village Green this year. As well as the Youth Forum there are almost 100 volunteers working across the festival in all kinds of roles. Many of the young people who have worked as volunteers on previous Village Green festivals are said to return year after year and several have gone on to careers in the live events industry.

As well as performances and organisation by young people, there are young artists on display too. Alfie Winters is a student at Belfairs Academy and has just been had his photography on display as part of the Leigh Art Trail at the June store. He will be bringing his work to Village Green and showing it in the Silent Disco area, as part of a small exhibition next to Brave 1.

Tickets for Village Green are on sale now via villagegreenfestival.com.

Prices are £20 for adults, £15 for 11-17 year olds, and free for ten years and under.

As in previous years, 500 free tickets are available to holders of Southend Council’s Advantage Card C. These can be picked up from the Southend Borough Council reception – just have your Advantage Card C ready to show.

Village Green is a not-for-profit, family-centred arts festival offering a diverse and eclectic mix of performance, activities, marketplaces, green spaces and food. Now in its tenth year, Village Green has grown from a small-scale event in 2008 attracting 8,000 people to a regional festival drawing crowds of more than 20,000.

Local, national and international acts take part offering audiences theatre, spoken word, poetry, dance, outdoor arts, circus, cabaret, musical theatre, DJs, visual arts, comedy, improvisation, film, music, workshops, children’s activities, games all set in the picturesque grounds of Chalkwell Park. Running from 11am until 9pm, Village Green offers ten hours of family fun in which everyone from small children to adults, teenagers to third agers can enjoy and take part in new art forms and discover new artists.

In 2019, Village Green is funded by Arts Council England, Southend-on-Sea Borough Council, Forward Motion and South Essex College

Previous festival acts have included Rag N Bone Man, Nitin Sawhney, Beth Orton, Kate Nash, Nothing But Thieves, The Selecter, Billy Bragg, Dan le Sac v Scroobius Pip, Eddi Reader, Roland Gift, Wilko Johnson, Shlomo, Sam Duckworth, The Skints, James Taylor Quartet, Boy with Tape on his Face, Camera Obscura, BBC Blast, Hip Hop Shakespeare Company, John Hegley, Phill Jupitus, The Blockheads and many more.

This year the bill includes Fun Lovin' Criminal's, Busted, Snowboy and the Latin Section, Ruti, Asylums and many more.