A three-week long festival of arts and music reaches a crescendo this weekend.

Inspired by a crater named Maidstone on the firey planet Mars, the Maidstone International Arts Festival, which started last month, is a first for the county town and sees arts organisations come together like never before.

The final weekend on Saturday, July 15 and Sunday, July 16, will feature performances and workshops at venues around the town.

Organised jointly by Maidstone Area Arts Partnership and cross-cultural festival organisers Baltic Art Form, the festival features activities staged in Brenchley Gardens, St Faith’s Church, Maidstone Museum, Mote Park Leisure Centre, All Saints Church and Drakes pub.

The first event which kicked off the festivities was an art exhibition, featuring works by artists including Graham Clarke, running in The Mall and Maidstone Museum until Sunday.

Other events that will have taken place over the course of the festival include three lectures and 13 workshops.

A gala concert being held on Saturday evening at Mote Hall will feature more than 60 performers.

It features Natalia Osipova, former Bolshoi and now principal ballerina at the Royal Ballet, and two up-and-coming male dancers from Rambert, plus three local dance troupes, Royal Opera House tenor Jorge Navarro Colorado, Russian mezzo Maria Gulik and bearded folk group the Dead Rat Orchestra.

Local performers include Invicta Jazz Orchestra and the Maidstone Singers plus Maryleen Schiltkamp, a Dutch musicpainter, and Reinis Zarins, an award-winning Lithuanian pianist.
The concert is part of the first Maidstone International Arts Festival.

Maidstone Area Arts Partnership (MAAP) chairman Ken Scott said: “Maidstone shares its name with a crater on Mars, the inspiration for the festival. Mars represents the next big exploratory challenge for mankind and the festival, in bringing together a rare combination of different talents, offers wonderfully varied entertainment and the challenge to imagine a new future.”

Mayor of Maidstone, Cllr Malcolm Greer, said: “This is an exciting first for the county town and we are thrilled to be welcoming some of the top names from music and dance to our town for this festival.

‘‘It is our mission to encourage public participation in the arts and to support local artists to improve the wellbeing of both individuals and the wider community. The festival marks a significant development, as the arts organisations of Maidstone begin to come together to help promote our county town and celebrate its rich cultural diversity.”

Tickets for the gala concert costing £11.21 or £21.83 can be bought by calling 01622 737916 or online at eventbrite.co.uk

Saturday, July 15

BRENCHLEY GARDENS

1.15pm to 3pm – Creative Song Writing Workshop with Elena Dana
3pm to 4pm – Making and playing musical instruments with Nathaniel Mann
On the bandstand:
10.30am to 11.15am – Elo Masing – The Sound of Mars
11:45am to 12.30pm – BAE Systems Brass Band
12.35pm to 1.15pm – Bella McKendrie and Martian Band
1.15pm to 3pm – Elena Dana – Interactive Song Writing Workshop and Performance
3pm to 3.45pm – Katya D’Janoeff
4.25pm to 5.15pm – Dom Bouffard and Emperors of Rome

ST FAITHS CHURCH

10am to 11.15am – Voice workshop by opera singer Maria Gulik
Noon to 1pm – Singing workshop by Andy Caruso, How to create a choir of aliens
1.15pm to 2pm – Andalou Dog – music project by multi-instrumentalist Andy Caruso
3.35pm to 4.50pm – Dead Rat Orchestra, with Nathaniel Mann, Daniel Merrill and Robin Alderton, Tyburnia on Mars, live film and soundtrack performance
4.50pm to 5.30pm – Talk and open debate about Tyburnia’s performance by Dead Rat Orchestra
5.30pm to 6.30pm – Elo Masing

MOTE PARK LEISURE CENTRE

10am to 11.30am– Ballet workshop by Renato Paroni
2.15pm to 3.45pm – Hip Hop workshop
4pm to 5:30pm - Musical Painting workshop by Maryleen Schiltkamp, Mote Park Leisure Centre
7.30pm – The Mayor’s Gala Concert, featuring Natalia Osipova, and artists from Rambert, classical pianist Reinis Zarins, musical performance painter Maryleen Schiltkamp, the Dead Rat Orchestra, operatic tenor Jorge Colarado Navarro, mezzo soprano Maria Gulik performing a specially composed piece for the Festival. She will be accompanied by The Maidstone Singers and Mixed Blessings who will also perform in their own right.

Sunday July 16

ALL SAINTS CHURCH

1pm to 2pm – Music & Painting - Reinis Zarins & Maryleen Schiltkamp
2.30pm to 3.30pm – Astley String Quartet with Lucia D’Avanzo-Lewis and Fraser Bowles
4pm to 5pm – Vicious Circle, with Elo Masing & Dave Maric
5.30pm to 6.30pm – Recital in six earthly languages by Jorge Navarro Colorado and Ricardo Gosalbo

DRAKES PUBLIC HOUSE

7pm – Closing event by Vicious Circle with Elo Masing & Dave Maric