Let the Welsh voices be heard! Let our stories be told without censorship, let the history of the Valleys roam free and get carried away in the Welsh wind! With most of South Wales’ economy becoming ever more reliant on Cardiff, the Valleys and surrounding areas have never felt more fragile. We’re on the verge of losing the unique identity that hundreds of years of traditional culture have carefully formed. Velvet Coalmine is a festival that uses the arts – be it creative writing, storytelling, poetry or spoken word – to infuse some inspiration back into Blackwood.
Friday sees the Africa Writes literary group lead creative writing workshops, engaging local primary schools with African texts, music and proverbs to stimulate young minds into thinking differently, letting their youthful minds run wild with the power of words. The rest of the weekend sees more of a professional development side to the programme, with workshops for teachers designed to develop tools and techniques for the craft of writing and talks on African literature’s place in the national curriculum.
It’s not all about the writing, however. If you fancy a bit of exercise over the weekend, qualified Nordic Walking instructor Ed Woolley is on hand to teach you the supercharged fitness routine that engages 90% of your muscles. The walk takes you down a picturesque canal path through Pontywaun to Wysome’s Wharf cafe. (£3)
The festival will also feature a range of live performances. Friday night’s headliner, the soulful acoustic harmonies of ITV’s The Voice finalists, Into the Ark, return to their hometown of Blackwood especially for Velvet Coalmine. After gigging first around Cardiff then the globe, the duo’s headline performance at the festival is already sold out. The Opening Party on Thursday night however brings something a little different: spoken word and music group Tongue Fu, one of the UK’s leading spoken word shows. Blending genre-hopping improvised soundtracks with poetry being re-worked as its spoken, the highly regarded Tongue Fu executes a mesmerising and unique live show. Velvet Coalmine then is set to be a weekend of writing, rock n’ roll and, well, coal.
Velvet Coalmine Festival, Blackwood, Thurs 7 – Sat 16 Sept. Tickets: prices vary. Info: www.velvetcoalmine.com
words HELEN PAYNE