QUAD Derby

After the massive success of Derby Festé 2007, QUAD along with Déda and the cultural partners of Derby have come up with an even bigger, bolder programme of spectacular entertainment.

Derby Festé 2008 will take place from Friday 26th - Sunday 28th September and will frame two significant events taking place in Derby in September; QUAD will open its doors, providing the city with a signature building for art and film, and this will sit alongside the launch of the Cultural Olympiad - a four-year national programme of activity running up to the London Olympics in 2012.

See below for some of the highlights, or visit the Festé website with more detailed information www.derbyfeste.com

Friday 26th September Highlights

10am Denis Tricot's Sculpture Garden - Internationally renowned artist Denis Tricot will begin to create a large scale wooden sculpture at the River Gardens, watch Denis at work throughout the weekend.

2pm QUAD opens! - Be amongst the first to see inside Derby's new £11 million centre for art and film.

6.30pm The Giants of Derby awaken - kicking off Festé 08 the Giants of Derby will be mingling with the crowds on the Market Place. The Giants are all based on characters from Derby's past, gathering to mark the historic moment as QUAD opens its doors. Brought back to life by local people, as part of a Heritage Lottery Funded project, you can find out more about the Giants by clicking here.

From 7pm - Street performers will be entertaining the crowds in the Market Place.

8pm An invasion of Insects! Spanish street art company Sarruga (who brought us The Dragons last year), will make a welcome return to Derby with Insects (see picture), another of their incredible shows. Expect the streets to be overrun by gigantic creepy crawlies!

8.45pm Heliosphere - Spiralling and spinning and seemingly weighless, an acrobat is suspended beneath a helium balloon to explore the Market Place (see picture).

Highlights Saturday 27th September

This is a day to explore everything that QUAD has to offer, so come inside and see what we're all about.

12 noon, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm Digital Face Painting in QUAD - Free workshop suitable for ages 12+ Learn how to use Photoshop to create a digital cartoon style image of yourself. Just drop in, places are first come, first served and sessions will last around 45 minutes. This workshop is part of Portrait of a Nation.

12 noon - 4pm Absurd Inventions at QUAD - Free family fun for all ages using different art techniques to create solutions to those tricky problems you've always wanted to solve. Just drop in, no need to book. Under 13s must be accompanied. This workshop is part of Portrait of a Nation. 

7pm @ Déda - the official launch of an exhibition of works by David Ainley, Joan Ainley and David Manley at Déda on Chapel Street.

7pm @ QUAD - Festé Trigger event. Come along for an exciting night of audiovisual experiments and fun. Tickets for this event are £10, available from QUAD Box office tel: 01332 290606 Click here for more information.

Highlights Sunday 28th September

10am - 1.30pm and 2.30pm - 4pm Interactive Derby - The BBC Big Screen on the Market Place. Free activity suitable for all ages, interact with visual material on the BBC Big Screen using VJ tools, webcam games, Wii Motes, touch screen and green screen. Just drop by, no need to book, sessions will last about 15 minutes. This workshop is part of Portrait of a Nation.

12 noon, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm Digital Face Painting in QUAD - Free workshop suitable for ages 12+ Learn how to use Photoshop to create a digital cartoon style image of yourself. Just drop in, places are first come, first served and sessions will last around 45 minutes.

12 noon - 4pm Absurd Inventions at QUAD - Free family fun for all ages using different art techniques to create solutions to those tricky problems you've always wanted to solve. Just drop in, no need to book. Under 13s must be accompanied.

1.30pm and 4pm Compagnie Beau Geste will present Transports Exceptionnels, an extraordinary show based on a tender love duet between a dancer and an industrial digger: not for the fainthearted - on the Market Place.

2pm - 6pm The People's Stage - will celebrate the full diversity of Derby with a programme of performances by local groups and organisations from all over the city, on the Market Place.

2pm - 6pm Gravity and Levity - an acclaimed mixture of contemporary dance, aerial circus and physical theatre in a free performance in the Assembly Rooms Great Hall.

5pm SuperRams - a special screening of SuperRams in the QUAD cinema, a compilation of classic moments from Derby County's history, created by Philip Leach, archivist and curator at MACE (Media Archive of Central England), in association with Derby County FC. The screening will be introduced by Simon Groom, including appearances by several ex-Derby players including Roy McFarland and Roger Davies. Tickets are available for SuperRams from QUAD Box office by ringing 01332 290606.Click here for more information.

8.30pm Denis Tricot - as a beautiful and reflective close to the weekend's festivities, the large scale wooden sculpture created by Denis Tricot in the River Gardens will be set alight.

Click here to see a trailer for Festé 08.

For more detailed information visit the Festé website www.derbyfeste.com