Save the date for Saturday 15 June as GO Festival makes it way to Gainsborough Town Centre.
From 10am until 6pm, this FREE event will showcase talented performers from Gainsborough and beyond.
The community stage will return with international acts also performing in the Market Place and Elswitha Green that you won’t want to miss.
West Lindsey District Council are pleased to announce a new addition to this year’s festival, thanks to the award by Arts Council England of £30,000 from National Lottery Project Grants. This funding will enable a series of school and community workshops with professional artists and performers to contribute to a spectacular carnival parade as part of the event.
The town centre will host a fantastically colourful and dynamic Caribbean-inspired carnival procession interwoven with more local themes, inspired by English folklore and nature.
Working in collaboration with SO Festival in Skegness, the event is delivering a programme of international artists that showcase amazing theatre, dance and arts.
Food, drinks and much more will be available for the public to purchase throughout the day.
Here’s the line up for the day. You can also download the programme, including a map, here – Go Festival Programme.
Hippos – Zum Zum Teatre
10.30am and 3pm
In a world where animals and people live together, we encounter hippopotamuses that choose a middle path. Are the humans disguised as the animal they wear? Or are they hippos that are searching for themselves inside of the individual that inhabits their body?
HIPPOS is a street theater show that challenges the appearances and stereotypes imposed by society. Three hippos dance, live and interact with people, but beyond the fun, a message is hidden, that of respect for difference.
Join these hippos on a physical journey that could be a fable, a metaphor, the preliminary reflection for a doctoral thesis on humanity and animality or, simply, a chance for all audiences to find themselves, and be a little lonelier, but in better company.
Duration: 25 mins
Get Lost – Joe Garbett Dance
1.15pm and 5pm
Help two happy hikers on their way and dive into a wholesome, high-energy dance adventure, where tents can dance and massive maps swamp the land.
Get Lost is about encouraging curiosities, igniting adventures and pushing past stereotypes.
As the story unfolds (literally, the dance floor is a huge unfolding map!) the relationship between the two relatable characters is ambiguous. The two dancers are empathetic, hyper, soft and tactile as they support, celebrate and solve their way through this wholesome yet high energy performance.
Duration: 30 mins
Thingamabob – Matt Pang
11.30am and 4.15pm
With an internationally renowned blend of circus, invention and humour, Matt brings to life a giant ball slinging, self exploding piece of handcrafted gadgetry, inspired by the famous Rube Goldberg machines and Heath Robinson contraptions.
Be part of the mayhem as our intrepid inventor risks nerve wracking failure to bring you one perfect chain reaction… with a little help from his little assistant. Matt Pang is an award winning circus and outdoor arts performer. His work blends circus and audience interaction, invention with laugh out loud humour. Matt’s shows have been performed at theatres and festivals in over 15 different countries.
Duration: 30 mins
Collection Day – Rhubarb Theatre
12.45pm
It’s bin day and 2 rambunctious refuse collectors are heroically cleaning the streets. But what’s this? A dustbin that refuses rubbish. Delving into its depths, we discover that ‘one man’s trash is another man’s treasure’, as a wonderful myriad of stories and treats ensue from all that is rubbish and recycled.
Rhubarb Theatre bring a dustbin of fun, a black sack of eco messages and heaps of mime, physical theatre, comedy, puppetry, and creativity into this brand-new storytelling piece.
Duration: 30 mins
Midsummer Carnival
2pm
A spectacular carnival parade will make its way from Lord Street into the Marketplace in the early afternoon. The lively and colourful parade will be led by young people from the Zodiac All Stars dance troupe, based in Nottingham, accompanied by Montserrat Masqueraders carnival performers and a specially commissioned Summer Queen – dressed in a new costume made with help from the local community.
One of a kind
West Lindsey District Council commissioned artist Donna Fox to design and gather ideas for the carnival queen costume with the local community of Gainsborough. “The Healing Garden” has been designed and hand painted by Donna and her daughter Lia. The structure and build is by Iola Weir, and headdress by Ruth Pigott. The masterpiece will be worn by Donna on the day, accompanied by the rest of her costumed team DonnaFoxAssociates. They will also be carrying silk painted tall flags, with live music and dance from the Montserrat Masqueraders.
Participants in an artist residency at Trinity Arts Centre, designed their own silk painted suncatcher and leaves. The leaves have been incorporated into the edges of the costume and some of the designs are incorporated within the centre hand painted silk batik leaves. Some of the centre panels depict garden references that Donna has close connections to, through her travels and health journey. Come along to the parade for the big reveal.
The costume will have a legacy after the GO festival and will continue to tour around the UK, in order to share the work with thousands of people at festivals and carnivals, including Edinburgh Festival Carnival, Nottingham, Derby and Mansfield.
Make sure to also look out for themed decorations in the town centre designed by artists from Curiosity Creators and Lumo Workshop working with the community, to complement the town’s Bunting Blast, created by Electric Egg – look out for flags around the town designed by local children.
Duration: 50 mins
Local Performers
Safari So-Goody!
Various times
Josephine and Gerald are out on safari and are hoping to meet some of the locals. Ideally taking in the sights, stopping off for tea and enjoying pleasant conversation, but their pesky camels have other ideas.
Rhythm In Movement
Rhythm In Movement11am
A well-established local dance school, Rhythm in Movement proudly bring a welcoming, warm & creative environment that enables participants of all ages and abilities to experience the joys of dance.
G-Town Dance Crew
12.15pm
Offering pure fun and laughter from start to finish, G-Town Dance Crew allows movers of all levels to flourish and offer experiences that are destined to become cherished memories.
Emily Toward
Emily Toward1.45pm
Gainsborough born Emily Toward started performing when she was just 10 years old. Now 25, Emily performs covers of pop songs including Amy Whinehouse, Paolo Nutini and Eliza Doolittle.
Charlotte Turland
4pm
Charlotte Turland is an original singer, songwriter and guitarist from Scunthorpe performing a range of covers and original songs.
American Daughters
American Daughters4.30pm
As American Daughters, Jake Marsden has been on the Hull scene since 2020, performing his heartfelt brand of country-tinged acoustic indie inspired by verbose artists such as The Weakerthans and the jangly-slacker Slaughter Beach, Dog.
Summer Sounds DJ Set
Summer Sounds DJ Set5.15pm
Get ready for the ultimate summer mix bringing the festival to a close with hits spanning decades that everyone will know and love.
School Performances
We’re delighted to welcome the following schools to come perform at this year’s GO Festival!
10am Benjamin Adlard Primary School
3.15pm The Frances Olive Anderson Primary School
This event has been made possible by funding from West Lindsey District Council’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund, Arts Council England, and Gainsborough Town Council.
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