2012 is the seventh year of the Waterlooville Music Festival.  The aim of this week is to bring music into St. George’s Church and into the centre of Waterlooville, for the whole community to enjoy. This year is no exception.  Together with Waterlooville Business Association’s “Market Place Music” on the first day of the Festival, you are invited to over 50 concerts, featuring soloists, choirs, instrumental groups and whole bands. It’s really good that once again local schools are taking part in the Festival. Students are performing in the afternoons and classes are coming to the special school workshops featuring Noah and his drums and a morning devoted to music production. Among the eight days of music the Festival welcomes for the first time this year Spinnaker Chorus and Portsmouth Philharmonia as well as welcoming back Hampshire Guitar Orchestra and Denmead Brass. On the final Saturday  something completely new is a choir comprising children from a number of local schools. Voices United will be giving its first ever public performance and I hope you’ll enjoy supporting the children and listening to them.

St. George’s Church and the Festival Organisers are greatly indebted to local businesses and councils for the continued support, without which Waterlooville Music Festival could not continue. The individual sponsors are listed in the Festival programme, but special appreciation is given to “Allmobility” of Waterlooville and Key’s Newsagents of Highfield Parade. Both shops have hosted the Festival Ticket Offices.  Please support them both and the other sponsors whenever possible. As usual Havant Borough Council has been a great supporter of Waterlooville Music Festival and the organisers are really grateful for this. All the monies taken during the week go towards the cost of staging the Festival and to providing a start up fund for next year. The 2013 programme is already being compiled - June 8th to 16th. If you would like to keep up to date with the various groups and individuals being booked, please click on

 www.waterloovillemusicfestival.org.uk

I hope you enjoy this year’s Waterlooville Music Festival which puts St. George’s very firmly on the map!

Fr Mike Sheffield

Festival Edition 2012

From the Parish Priest