In just a few weeks time I hope to welcome you to the Waterlooville Music Festival 2014 - our ninth year. 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 orchestras.

It’s really good that once again local schools are taking part in the Festival. Students are performing at lunchtimes and in the afternoons and children are invited to workshops featuring drumming and a morning devoted to song writing for young musicians. This year the Festival welcomes for the first time Havant Symphony Orchestra strings and the ladies barbershop singers Pitchpipers as well as welcoming back Highbury Area Band and Portsmouth Cathedral’s Consort Choir. On the first Saturday a choir comprising children from a number of local schools is performing - Voices United. It’s particularly good to welcome the children back as the choir is sponsored by Waterlooville Music Festival as part of its aim to encourage music among young people. A completely new event this year is Saturday evening’s Party Night with Out of the Shadows playing music from the 1960s. The Dragon Jazz Club has moved to Tuesday evening with Friday’s Folk and Ale evening featuring Pompey Pluckers and The Bursledon Village Band. Throughout the week refreshments will be served and each evening, except Wednesday, there’ll be a real ale bar supported by one of our local breweries, Bowman’s.

The Festival Organisers are greatly indebted to local businesses and councils for their continued support, without which Waterlooville Music Festival could not continue. The individual sponsors are listed at the end of the programme, but special appreciation is given to Allmobility of Waterlooville, Key’s Newsagents of Highfield Parade and Thistle Wool Shop in Cowplain all of which have hosted the Festival Ticket Offices. Please support them and the other sponsors whenever possible.  As usual Havant Borough Council has been a great supporter of Waterlooville Music Festival and the organisers express their appreciation.

If you haven’t got your concert tickets yet, don’t forget they’re on sale in the three ticket offices and also in Church after services. I hope you will come and will enjoy this year’s Festival. Next year, our tenth year, it will be June 13th - 21st and the programme is already being compiled. A band from the Royal Marines Association will be playing and the Hampshire Guitar Orchestra will be making a welcome return.  If you would like to keep up to date with the various groups and individuals being booked, please click on

 www.waterloovillemusicfestival.org.uk

Fr Mike Sheffield

Festival Edition 2014

From the Parish Priest