Liberty UK Festival in Corby’s town centre

On 19th February, Liberty UK Festival popped up in Corby to celebrate the themes of freedom and democracy with a day of free fun activities for everyone to enjoy.

The festival was produced in partnership with Made with Many and The Core at Corby Cube, bringing a varied programme of street-theatre, creative arts workshops, live performances, virtual reality exhibitions, unusual lollipop wardens and funky disco beats to the streets of Corby.

In Willow Place Shopping Centre, the Earth Heroes workshop by The Wild Tribe offered environmentally friendly creative activities around the themes of sustainability to participants of all ages – inviting them to plant a range of herb seeds and decorate plant pots in creative ways. Alongside the workshop, the charming giant animatronic tortoise Zelva of What the Tortoise Taught us by The Flying Buttresses kept audiences entertained and out of the rain as both projects were able to share their environmental mission in a truly engaging fashion.

Out in the streets, the unusual lollipop signs of the live intervention SLOW DOWN by artists YARA+DAVINA were inspiring passers-by to stop and reflect on everyday situations – encouraged by our Liberty Changemakers Charlotte and Simran as well as some sweet treats! The Disco Litter Queens by Curious Company also took their beat to the streets to share the joy of litter picking to funky disco sounds.

Inspired by the stories of Corby, the trail of The Empty Chairs by artist Edwina Kung was showcased in Corby’s town centre – and is now finding a new home in the public library at Corby Cube, where they will be exhibited between the bookshelves to spark conversations about Corby and the stories that motivated the beautiful paintings on them.

Two virtual reality experiences, Paint to Pixel by MBD and Re-cognition by Leo&Hyde, offered new and unusual views to audiences as they were able to walk through a virtual graffiti exhibition and imagine Corby’s greener future with the aid of VR headsets.

For all who were wondering how to best prepare themselves for unknown events, PREPPERS by Casson & Friends raised thought-provoking questions during their dance performances at The Core at Corby Cube in the afternoon. The day then culminated with a fantastic programme at The Core again, starting with This is Corby by the Core Create group, followed by poet Jess Green and The Write to Rave, a spoken-word rave-based performance by Debris Stevenson, which finished off a fantastic day in style.

Liberty UK Festival in Corby offered a great programme of cultural celebration to the people of Corby, bringing creative activities and inspiring ideas to Corby’s streets. We want to thank our fantastic partners and inspiring artists for making this day in Corby so special!