Bicester Festival returned for its fifth year on Saturday 16th July 2022. This years festival was coordinated by OYAP Trust with the support of Cherwell District Council, Bicester Town Council, The Mill Arts Centre and a host of volunteers.
Building on the most successful components of previous years, this one day event
combined a parade, performances and participatory workshops. There truly was something to inspire everyone, whether watching, performing or simply joining in the festival spirit.
Gwynhaff, a magnificent, pedal-powered dragon, led school and community groups on a parade through the town centre and into Garth Park. In the park, Bicester favourite Aaron Williams seamlessly hosted both the bandstand and music stage performances. There were lots of opportunities to get creative, including arts and crafts, dance, theatre, and music making.
Just More Productions performed their vibrant comedy circus outdoor show and provided a Hula-Hoop workshop between performances. Gwynhaff posed for photos while the Festive Road team ran their dragon-themed workshop.
Live music lovers were entertained for more than seven hours with a line-up that celebrated a wide range of local bands, young artists and community groups as well as Witney based singer and songwriter Torrin – winner of The Voice Kids 2021.
News from the 2022 Festival
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Live Music by Maria Merinova
Maria Merinova is an independent artist from Bicester. Originally from Russia, Maria has been living in the UK for the past 8 years. She enjoys making her own acoustic piano versions of popular songs and records covers for her Youtube channel. In January 2022 as a member of “Apparent Magnitude” band she released her first…
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Live Music By Molly Jin
We are delighted to welcome Molly, an exciting emerging talent and Spotlight Young Performer since 2020. At just 8 years old she is a classic and contemporary singer, violinist, piano and guitar player WOW Not only a festival soloist, you’ll also see her perform with OYAP Youth Theatre and Brookside Primary School Choir. What a…
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Get Creative with The Arty Crafty Place
For this year’s festival, we have a number of participatory stalls made up of local businesses and community groups. The Arty Crafty Place – a world of joyous creativity – will be joining us so you can try out their wonderful Indian Block Printing stamps. Be prepared to have a new obsession! Based in Middle…
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Live Music By David Thompson
David Thompson just enjoys singing and playing the piano! He’ll be playing a couple of classic songs and a song he wrote about the plight of his Ukrainian guests’ waiting in Warsaw, trying to get a visa under the ‘homes for Ukraine’ scheme. ‘Plan for the worst, hope for the best’ became their mantra, helping…
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Live Music by Simon Emm
We’re excited to welcome Simon Emm to our Music Stage on Saturday 16th July! A singer-songwriter from West Oxfordshire, he’s a regular on the local open mic. circuit. Often heard busking in Witney and playing at pub gigs across Oxfordshire, folk music influenced his early covers, but now he enjoys performing a broad variety of…
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Live Music by Monarch
We’re really looking forward to welcoming Monarch to our Festival Stage on Saturday 16th July. We enjoyed their recent performance at OYAP’s Local Music Night and can’t wait to see them live again in Garth Park. Of their music, Monarch shared “I sing a mixture of music genres including soft rock, alternative rock, acoustic and…
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Fun Family Performance in Garth Park
We can’t wait to welcome Just More Productions to Bicester Festival with Do What Yah Mamma Told Yah! a vibrant comedy circus outdoor show. Using food and performance to bring communities and cultures together, this mother and daughter team will entertain us with their slapstick story of chef Mama T’s international recipes. Help the clumsy…
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Aaron Williams Entertainer will be our 2022 host!
We’re delighted to share the news that Aaron Williams Entertainer, a long standing Bicester favorite, will be teaming up with the festival this year. Aaron will welcome our youngest visitors with his own unique entertainment when the parade arrives at the park, and will then host our live acts throughout the afternoon. He’s guaranteed to…
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We’re excited to welcome Torrin, winner of The Voice kids, to Bicester!
Torrin, the 2021 winner of ITV’s The Voice Kids hails from Witney in Oxfordshire. We are hugely excited to announce that she will be performing at Bicester Festival This year. The music stage will be a huge part of the fun in Garth Park on Saturday 16th July. Torrin performs unique takes on popular covers…
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Gwynhaff the dragon will lead the festival parade this year!
Gwynhaff is Festive Road’s larger-than-life, pedal-powered red dragon. She is a magnificent creature and, despite her fearsome look, she is very friendly. Whether walking or standing, she is highly interactive and engaging – she loves nothing more than people coming up to say hello, and is always happy to pose for photos. Gwynhaff is very…
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Date announcement for 2022!
We are pleased to announce that Bicester festival will return for it’s fifth year on Saturday 16th July 2022. This year the event will focus on a parade through the town and a day of amazing community arts in Garth Park. The day will include performances, music and opportunities to be creative. Keep an eye…