2022 A Summer of Fun
A Summer of Fun on Lincoln’s High Street
Across summer 2022, Lincoln’s High Street was brought to life by a programme of events and performances as part of Lincoln’s ‘High Street Shuffle’ supported by Historic England’s High Street Heritage Action Zone.
Lincoln Small Creative Grants Programme, launched in March 2022, offered grants of between £1000-£2,500 to small-scale or emerging festivals in Lincoln to support existing events and to aid their recovery following post-Covid.
The small creative grants aimed to provide support and investment to small-scale and emergent events and festivals within Lincoln, to support creatives to stage festivals, events, live performances to assist recovery, growth, organisational development, and artistic innovation.
The City Council’s recently developed Festivals Strategy is a vital part of the overall approach, and is devised appropriately for a city with relatively little standing cultural infrastructure. In that context the strategy aims both to animate the city’s historic core with cultural activity and to ensure a wide-ranging, year-round programme of community-focused and visitor-attraction cultural events in a variety of settings.
South of the Tracks Festival – 11th June 2022
The South of the Tracks was an open-air festival which took place on Lincoln High Street – south of the railway crossing and Tentercroft street. The day event showcased a line-up of diverse live music from talented Lincolnshire acts. Performances ranging from artists, ranging from beatboxing to indie, to blues, to singer songwriters played to a bustling High Street. Hosted by Acoustic Nations Live CIC which supports, mentors and networks Lincolnshire’s talented emerging music creators with the aim of enhancing their creative and professional knowledge and experience.
South of the Tracks music festival, July 2022. Image credit: acoustic nations
Further information about South of the Tracks Festival.
1940s Weekend – 23rd to 24th July
Lincoln BIG’s popular annual 1940s event includes a 1940s Market, live music and dancing, vehicle displays, street theatre and flypasts by historic aircraft from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. The event returned in July 2022 following a hiatus due to COVID-19. The HAZ cultural programme grant enabled activities and music performances to take place across a much broader area during the weekend event.
Lincoln 1940s Weekend, Lincoln Big.
Lincoln 1940s weekend. Credit: Lincoln Big
Further information about the 1940s Weekend.
Lincoln Pride - 20th August 2022
Lincoln Pride UK has been established since 2013, providing a yearly event for the LGBTQ+ community and allies, to come together to celebrate the diversity and inclusion in the city. By organising Lincoln Pride we are creating a safe space for the community, where we march with rainbows and colour through the city to the event space putting on live acts, community markets, educational programs and workshops.
Parade, Lincoln Pride 2022.
Stage, Lincoln Pride, 2022
Further information about Lincoln Pride UK.
Rhubarb Theatre, 5 live performances between May - December 2022
Rhubarb Theatre will deliver 5 full days of street theatre and walkabout on Lincoln High Street between May and December 2022. Each of the events will be different, bringing a variety of street shows and characters. All events will take place within the HSHAZ lower-high street area and be fully accessible to all.
The Good Knights, Rhubarb Theatre, Lincoln
The Bookworms, Rhubarb Theatre
Further information about Rhubarb Theatre – A kaleidoscope of visual fantasy.
The Forum – 1st – 2nd October
For one weekend only, local arts organisation, Zest Theatre, created space for Lincoln’s young people to hang out, get inspired, and shape the future of the city with ‘The Forum’.
The event took over St Benedict’s Square in Lincoln– a colourful, pop-up space for young people aged 11-18 to hang out in the city centre.
Earlier this year, Zest ran schools’ workshops with 1,094 young people across Lincoln to discover what the next generation wanted from the future of the city. This research highlighted a real need for more spaces for young people to safely exist and thrive across Lincoln.
Through support from Historic England’s High Streets Heritage Action Zone Cultural Programme, the young people’s ideas were displayed in The Forum in St Benedict’s Square on 1st and 2nd October – providing a space for young people to hang out and get inspired.
Young people aged 11-18 and their families are invited to visit The Forum to meet friends and share their own ideas.
The forum by Zest Theatre. Photo credit: Scot Murray
Further information about Zest Theatre.