Welcome to the 2021 edition of the Knighton Festival, which will be happening between Saturday October 2 and Sunday 10 October 10. 

​Our Festival Committee has assembled a fantastic programme of panel discussions, talks, and readings, featuring poets, visual artists, writers, activists, scholars, and scientists, as well as musical performances that include a rarely-performed contemporary opera about climate change. Although most of our programme will be online via Zoom again this year, we have included some outdoor activities, including guided walks led by the East Radnorshire Ramblers, as well as local experts in geology and history.  Although the majority of our contributors are from the local area or elsewhere in Wales, some will be speaking from further afield, including North America. Our audience members will be able to contribute to the conversation by commenting and asking questions via the Zoom chat box.  

All events are free, and tickets are available from Eventbrite via this website unless otherwise stated.  You only need to book one ticket for each day, and can join, leave and return at any time.  The Festival Committee is extremely grateful to all our contributors for generously waiving their fees so that we can bring everyone this rich and enjoyable programme free of charge. The online events will also be streamed live via the Knighton Festival Facebook page.

We hope that you enjoy the Festival, and look forward to your participation and feedback.

The Knighton Festival Committee

The following three circular walks are available for the Knighton Festival 2021

Sunday 3rd October: Knighton West and Glyndwr’s Way; 6 miles
Wednesday 6th October: Holloway Rocks and Offa’s Dyke Path; 8 miles
Sunday 10th October: Offa’s Dyke Path Loop; 7 miles

Full details are given below or printable file here
IMPORTANT 

Please book your place with the walk leader by email (see below); places are limited
Walks are undertaken at own risk
No dogs are allowed except for registered assistance dogs
Children must be accompanied by an adult


Please wear suitable clothing and either walking boots or sturdy trainers. 
Bring refreshments for morning break and lunch including plenty to drink.

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The Knighton Festival is now in its 4th year, and we have been busy booking
speakers for what promises to be another great programme.

This year we plan to hold a mixture of live and on-line events during the first week in October.

Staring off we have the theme of Climate Change and the Environment and we have assembled a panel of leading scientific experts to discuss this topical issue, including Gabrielle Walker, author of "The Hot Topic, how to avoid global warming while still keeping the lights on".
The film from The Carbon Chronicles, an opera about oil and
climate change written by Camilla Saunders; and a presentation from Knighton
environmental group TVEG.

Emma Stibborn RA will discuss her work depicting landscapes affected by
climate change. Printmaker Andrew Baldwin will discuss the techniques he
uses for non-toxic etching and Thomas Perceval, a young artist from Presteigne
will be showing and talking about his extraordinary paintings of trees.

We have included lots of poetry: a selection of writers will read their poems
from Seren Books’ landmark anthology, 100 Poems to Save the Earth. Deborah
Alma will be discussing her work at the Poetry Pharmacy in Bishops Castle.
Then, to celebrate National Poetry Day, we will be joined by the Marches Poets
at the Tuesday morning café at the Comm on 4th October.

Details of the closing weekend are still to be finalised, but fans of crime novels
will not want to miss the panel of Welsh crime writers discussing their new
books. We are also thrilled to be joined by Tim Barringer from Yale University
to discuss the Pre-Raphaelites and contemporaries, focusing on works in the
Birmingham Art Gallery

There will be an opportunity to join a series of guided walks led by the East
Radnorshire Ramblers; plus a chance to go fossil hunting with eminent
geologist Joseph Botting; and an informed tour of Knighton’s architectural
history with John Davies.

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for up-to-date announcements
of speakers and events. Full details of the programme will be available shortly.

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​Following the success of last year’s festival that was held virtually due to the Coronavirus restrictions, it has been agreed that there should again be a festival this year.

Successive weekends have been chosen for holding the festival in October, on two Saturdays, the 2nd & 9th.

A steering committee has been formed to oversee the festival, and is looking for volunteers to join an enthusiastic and energetic team committed to delivery a varied and entertaining programme of events. 

At the moment, the plan is for the festival to be delivered virtually, but this may well change depending upon how circumstances develop during the coming period.

Anyone interested in sharing in this exciting project can contact Knighton & District Community Centre for further information. Knightoncomm@gmail.com