Young People Needed For New Youth-Led Festival In Sandown

Young Islanders between the ages of 10 and 18 are being asked to get involved with a new festival based in Sandown.

Members of Community Action Isle of Wight’s Bay Youth Forum will be bringing Ascend, a new youth arts festival, to the town on July 12 and 13 this year.

Ascend, which is part of Artswork’s Young Cultural Changemakers programme, will see Sandown’s Broadway Centre transformed into an exciting festival space for young people – with a Battle of the Bands on the evening of Friday 12 July, followed by a day of music, circus skills, Samba drumming, film and art workshops the following day.

One reason the group wanted to run their own festival was to address some of the negative stereotyping around young people.

“We want to show that teenagers don’t just get into bad situations, but can do something positive,” explains Maddie, aged 15.

The group is also concerned that there aren’t enough things for young people to do in the area, or enough places for them to go – an issue they addressed in their film ‘Do Something Different’ which they completed last year as part of Artswork’s Supporting Young Minds programme.

The group now needs more young people, living or going to school in the Sandown, Lake and Shanklin area, to get involved with planning and delivering the festival.

Sessions run at the Broadway Centre, Sandown, on Mondays, with festival decoration making for 10-13-year-olds from 4-5pm, and event planning and marketing for 14-18-year-olds from 5pm to 6.30pm.

Anyone interested in helping – or performing at Ascend – can get in touch via Instagram  or by emailing ZPortsmouth@actioniw.org.uk.