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Are you sitting comfortably?

Older readers will probably remember the way the BBC children’s programme Listen With Mother started with the words “Are you sitting comfortably, then I’ll begin?"

This year’s Caerleon Arts Festival will be adopting  "Talkwood" as its theme title to help it promote the important link between storytelling and seating. International artists are being invited to create story-telling chairs or benches in wood and stone, and  the sculpture symposium will once again be the core event in the well established annual festival which will also feature a wide range of music, drama and art events in and around Caerleon during the festival week.

Most of the story-telling chairs will probably find their way to local schools, but the Festival organisers are also working on a pilot project with the Roman Legion Museum in Caerleon and BBC Wales’ Breathing Spaces scheme which could result in chairs being carved for National Museums sites throughout Wales in future years.

“These chairs or benches will be quality sculptures in their own right, and what we’re trying to do is to provide exciting, aesthetically pleasing seating which will also allow storytellers - and hopefully the children - to sit comfortably indoors or out of doors during the storytelling,” said Festival chairman Tim Davidson.

Caerleon Arts Festival will also be working closely with Newport City Council and the Celtic Manor Resort, because the event is officially part of this year’s Newport Festival 2010 (see links on the right) which was launched on Thursday, January 21st, to celebrate and promote Newport during the year of the Ryder Cup.

Caerleon Arts Festival will take place between July 2nd and 11th at various venues in Caerleon. There'll also be a series of fund raising concerts and events in the run up to the Festival, starting with performances by the award winning folk singer Jackie Oates at Llanhennock Village Hall on  Sunday, March 7th, and the leading Scottish folk group "Breabach,"  at Caerleon Comprehensive School on Tuesday, March 30th. Further details will appear here and at Caerleon Tourist Information Centre 01633 422656. You can also keep in touch with us at our Facebook page (see link on the right).

If you have any suggestions for the website please drop us a line (you'll find us on the Contacts & Links page) and keep popping back to keep in touch with the News & Events page, where we'll keep you up to date with activities in and around Caerleon over the coming year- and thank you for all your kind support.