Leamington Peace Festival 2003

The Leamington Peace Festival, running for nearly 25 years, is a free festival that aims to promote an understanding of international peace in all its aspects. This includes: environmental harmony and living in cooperation with others; enabling organisations and individuals to participate during the festival weekend; raising awareness of world and local issues by giving individuals ways of becoming involved in the world around them; providing an opportunity for local crafts people to demonstrate their skills and display their crafts; promoting fair trade practices and encouraging local artists and entertainers to share their skills.

It features two entertainment areas, a children's tent, a workshop tent, and over a hundred stalls representing charities, religious and philosophical groups, healers, pressure groups, craftspeople, and fair traders.

This year's line-up in the Marquee on Saturday from 11am-10pm with MC Mitch, is as follows: Lingo 3, Nigel Ward & Gerry Bailey, The Notables, Overhung, Journey's End, Firebrand, Joe O'Donnell's Shkayla, The Fold, Souler Rhythm, Blues Rats, and the Jon Paul Seti Project.

On Sunday, the Marquee brings MC Chris Radley from 11.30am, with Mitch Wainwright, Amaranth, Coope, Boyes & Simpson, Firedaze, Blyth Power, and Wish culminating in Le Cod Afrique at 5pm.

Music is interspersed with talks on peace and other global issues.

Speakers include: Milan Rai, author of War Plan Iraq (2002) and the forthcoming book, 'Saddam Defeated, Regime Changed?'; Claire Kime of the Leamington Stop the War Coalition; Judith Anderson on 'The Medical and Humanitarian Effects of War' and John Myers on 'The Work of Leamington’s One World Link (OWL)'.

This year, festival organisers are appealing to the public to share their memories and mementoes of the Peace Festival. The display entitled, "Our Leamington, Our Festival" starts at the Art Gallery & Museum on 17th May and will run until August. It is hoped that the display will encompass a living collection of people's memories of the festival.

If you wish to contribute to the museum's display, contact Ellie Clewlow by email: OurFestival@PeaceFestival.org.uk

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