Annual arts festival brings the village together and raises over £8,000

On the weekend of 30 – 31 August, the tiny village of Alderton, consisting of only 48 houses, in the Towcester Deanery held its 49th Art Festival. After the glorious weather experienced for most of the summer, it was disappointing to have a wet weekend but despite the poor weather, the festival still managed to raise nearly £8,000 for St Margaret’s Church.

Over 40 local artists exhibited their work inside St Margaret’s and a total of 47 framed paintings and 31 unframed paintings were sold over the weekend. Located outside the church were stalls selling pre-loved clothing, bric-a-brac, plants, cakes, jewellery, chainsaw sculptures, decorated glass and much more.

On both days local singers provided entertainment – Songbirds on the Saturday and The Songbook Singers on the Sunday – and refreshments were available all day with a wonderful stall selling tea and cake, a licensed bar and barbecue.

The festival is very much a village affair with everyone getting involved in some way, be it erecting tents, cooking, marshalling in the church, selling art or putting up posters. As churchwarden Linda Dards says: “apart from raising much-needed money for our lovely little church, the event really brings the village together and although the weekend is very hard work, not only during the weekend but in the weeks beforehand, everybody seems to enjoy themselves”.