More than 1,000 children to take part in Art Festival

A NEW art festival will see paintings,

drawings and sculptures by more than 1,000 children displayed in

Marlborough next year.

The inaugural Children's Art Festival,

organised by We Love Marlborough, has already attracted 1,245

participants from 16 schools, with more likely to come on board in

the new year.

Primary School aged children are being

partnered with the town's retailers, encouraging an exchange of

visits and a creation of art based on the shop’s individual retail

offering.

The works of art will then be displayed

at Marlborough Town Hall from Friday, April 1 to Sunday, April 3.

And the best will be displayed in the

shops, forming part of a trail to be followed by parents, art-lovers

and tourists.

The Children’s Art Festival is

sponsored by Marlborough Chamber of Commerce and is being organised

by Sarah Condie of arts organisation We Love Marlborough.

Eighteen retailers have already agreed

to become part of the trail, including Waitrose, Spec Savers,

Ducklings, Acceler8, Marlborough Perfumery, Landmark, Bertie Maffoon

Bikes, Oxfam Books and Music, The India Shop, Crosby and Lawrence,

Cook, Leather Craft, David Dudley, White Horse Book Shop,

Framemakers, Haine & Smith, Merchants House Trust, Vodafone.

Victoria Lara, president of Marlborough

Chamber of Commerce, said: “The Children's Art Festival is an

excellent idea – it is a novel way of increasing footfall in

Marlborough's retail outlets.”

There is a nominal fee for each

retailer to cover marketing costs. Businesses interested in taking

part should contact Sarah at sjcondie@yahoo.co.uk or on 0781 758 0556

or We Love Marlborough at hello@welovemarlborough.co.uk or on 01672

811515.

The festival organisers are also keen

to hear from businesses and organisations that would like to be

associated with the event through sponsorship.