Lancashire Encounter Festival - 21/9/18 - 23/9/18

Sep, 21 2018

~In the mainstream world of entertainment a couple of events are recalled as biennial. These include the charity based fundraisers, Sports Relief and Comic Relief. Sport relief focus on physical endurance and events which the public have proudly been sponsored to participate in.  Comic Relief is more about humour, yet can be profoundly moving with it’s global reports in third world countries. What they both don’t do however is focus on the cultural and performance aspect of what makes a great biennial event.

 Back in 2015 Preston City Council proposed an idea that would bring in local people and light up Preston City Centre with some amazing  performances. The Lancashire Encounter was billed as an experiment, it would be a trial run to see if it could be repeated.

The weekend event showcased the work of artists from across the Lancashire County and community activities, drawing in 20,000 attendees. Recognising the potential of the event to grow and impact the communities, artists and arts organisations of Lancashire, as well as attract visitors into the County, it was agreed the event should become a bi-annual cultural festival.

2 years ago it had continued the trend it set in 2015 and now it returns for a 2018 spectacular. For inspiration on what to see and when visit the Creative Lancashire website and find the link to  Event Itineraries.

Those that attended the 2016 programme will recall the Procession of Light. It was a night time viewing which saw the streets of Preston illuminated with awe-inspiring creations and quirky installations from community organisations and local businesses. An amazing 43,000 visitors attended the last Lancashire Encounter, let’s hope we can get a repeat showing this year.

To help you build up to the official 2018 start, here are a couple of videos from the last two events, including the pilot and the official first one from just two years ago:-

YouTube - Lancashire Encounter Festival 2015
YouTube - Lancashire Encounter Festival 2016

The Lancashire Encounter Festival considers two parties,  the city of Preston and the Lancashire County. The streets are amass with entertainment, cultural delights, food and fun. Whatever the 2018 festival brings, you’ll be sure to have an unforgettable Encounter.

The Lancashire Encounter kicks off tonight
Friday 21st September to Sunday 23rd September
2018.

^Alex Ashworth.