The Big Feast 10th Edition
On Friday 23 and Saturday 24 August in Stoke-on-Trent City Centre (Hanley), Appetite celebrated the 10th edition of The Big Feast in brilliant fashion! Performers from the worlds of music, street theatre, circus, dance and more joined us. They came from across the country, they came from across the globe, and they came on the bus to create two days of free, exhilarating arts on the streets across 13 locations.
Young or old, returning visitor or first-timer, there was something for everybody to enjoy: Circus Raj came from India dancing on a bed of nails and slack rope walking; experimental brass band Perhaps Contraption led people all across the centre on The Journey; and Ghetto Fabulous sashayed the house down and spread beams of love and positivity to thrilled audiences.
Local artists were well represented including techno marching band KiLNE, performances from ArtsHill Players, Performing Peppers and Dharshanodiyaa school of Bharathanatiyam, BREAKTHROU’ by FRONTLINEdance on the Piccadilly Stage, plus New Vic Borderlines’ hit play The Miner Birds inspired by the experiences of the North Staffs Miners’ Wives Association Group (NSMWAG) to mark the 40th anniversary of the 1984 miners’ strike.
There was plenty of dancing in the streets too: Tony and Ray found their feet; Born to Protest gave us energetic Hip Hop dance theatre, creating a powerful performance that will stay with those who watched entranced; meanwhile Palais de Danse transported the crowd from the pavement outside the city centre bus station back to a night out in late 1950s Britain.
And there was so much more! You can see the full list of all the artists involved this year on The Big Feast 2024 event page.
The 10th edition of The Big Feast truly was a joyous celebration, and a timely love letter to Stoke-on-Trent and its people. Smoothly delivered by our Appetite team, our Production team: PH Productions, suppliers and freelance team and our project partners: Stoke-on-Trent City Centre BID, Genr8 with the support of all sorts of teams from Stoke-on-Trent City Council: the biggest thank you to them.
In the words of Appetite Director Gemma Thomas: “We love filling the streets of our city centre with fun, laughter, music, circus and more!”
Take a look at the video below to see some photos across both days and hear from the people who were there. And check back soon for the official Big Feast 2024 video!
You can also enjoy videos of the live streams from the event over on our YouTube Channel via these links:
Deva Modern Khatak by Pagrav Dance
BAMBOO Circus by NoFit State with Imagineer
Out of the Box Comedy magic and clowning by Darryl Carrington (Please note that the first 19 minutes of this video has no sound due to Facebook copyright restrictions on music used during the performance. Sound is available as normal from that point onwards.)
Luminarium
This year, The Big Feast celebrations started early when Luminarium descended on Hanley Park from Wednesday 14 – Friday 16 August. Luminarium is an extraordinary inflatable labyrinth of calming soundscapes and enveloping lights from Architects of Air by Alan Parkinson. So anticipated was the event that pre-bookable tickets sold out within 24 hours! Thanks to Hanley Park for hosting the event which was part-funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
If you didn’t get to experience it – or simply want to relive the magic – watch this video of photos and audience impressions.
Coverage
Check out some of the fantastic coverage we got from local media for both events, including a video of Luminarium from BBC Stoke & Staffordshire.
Luminarium
BBC Stoke & Staffordshire video (Facebook)
BBC News including BBC Radio Stoke interview
The Big Feast
Get involved!
If you’d like to support our future events you can make a donation, spread the word as an ambassador, or volunteer to be part of the event team. And don’t forget to find out what’s coming up next at our What’s On page!
Credits: All images by Jenny Harper and Malcolm Hart. Live streams by PH Production Services.
The Big Feast 2024 was an Appetite event in partnership with Stoke-on-Trent City Centre BID, Smithfield Stoke-on-Trent, and Stoke-on-Trent City Council.
