Oxfordshire invited to get celebrating!

Friday 2 June, 2006

In 2007 Oxfordshire celebrates its 1000th birthday—and local organisations are invited to get involved.

As well as the 70-plus festivals that Oxfordshire already boasts, a series of Special Events are planned for Oxfordshire 2007, which is a year-long celebration of the huge range and diversity of cultural experience that the county has to offer—and that includes not just the arts, but sport, science, food and the environment as well.

To stimulate creative input for the celebration, Oxford Inspires is holding a series of five Open Space Forums across the county (in Witney, Oxford, Abingdon, Banbury and Wallingford) to which all are invited.

The forums will provide a chance for local organisations and individuals to find out more about the exciting events already being planned for Oxfordshire 2007—and to think about creating their own.

More than 30 Special Events are already being planned, from the Eat the County food festival, to Faces of Oxfordshire, Street Olympics, Summer Saturdays and Go with the Flow waterways festival. And Oxford Inspires, the county's cultural development agency, wants to have more!

"Anyone can organise their own Special Event—we want to see as many exciting ideas across the county as possible, so that 2007 really will be a year to remember" said marketing director Cath Nightingale. "The Open Forums are an opportunity for people to find out what's going on and how they can tie in to the celebrations. 2007 is all about getting together and we want to encourage exciting new collaborations—not just between artists but with local businesses and other organisations or groups. Oxford Inspires is there to broker new relationships, give advice and suggest possible avenues of funding."

Oxford Inspires coordinated Evolving City, a programme of cultural events in Oxford last year and found that the organisations involved benefited enormously from the networks and partnerships they formed. Oxfordshire 2007 goes countywide: "We're not just celebrating 1000 years of Oxfordshire—we're also including other anniversaries and openings, such as the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade and the 50th anniversary of Blackbird Leys estate" said Cath Nightingale.

"The Special Events Forums are a fun, innovative way to present ideas and find out about Oxfordshire 2007."

Special Events Forum Dates:

Witney Corn Exchange: Thursday 29 June, 1245–1615
Oxford Town Hall: Monday 3 July, 1830–2200
Abingdon Guildhall: Tuesday 4 July, 1245–1615
Banbury Town Hall: Monday 10 July, 1245–1615
South Oxfordshire District Council, Crowmarsh Gifford: Monday 17 July, 1245–1615

Oxford Inspires would like to invite everyone to come along, either as an audience member or a presenter of a two minute talk on an idea for a Special Event. This should consist of just a few sentences, laced with passion, aimed at enticing people to come and hear more from you and to get involved in helping you put on your Event. There will be sixteen slots available, and places will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis.

Please click here for more information about the day (Word document, 333 kb).

Please note that numbers are limited so if you would like to attend you will need to register in advance by emailing events@oxfordinspires.org and letting us know which forum you would like to attend. If you are interested in presenting, email us by Tuesday 20 June.

Oxford Inspires is also producing a guide to organising your own Special Event, which will be published in June.

For more information contact us.

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