LONDON.-Arts Council England has awarded a £45,200 National Lottery grant towards Market Harborough’s annual street festival - Arts Fresco. This is the biggest ever professional arts event to take place in the town and is on Saturday 8 September. The event has run successfully since 2002, is the only independent street arts festival in the region and the only large-scale professional arts event in Harborough district.

Arts Fresco will include:
· A night time spectacle show from pyrotechnics company, The World Famous
· International acts from New Zealand, Germany and France
· A new walkabout show commissioned from the Comic Character Creations Company
· A children’s village with all day circus school and craft and fashion design workshops
· New shows from young circus graduates
· A new walkabout character commissioned from Rin Tin Tin
· Installation from Insect Circus Museum
· A ‘bijou’ craft makers market

These will be supported by 15 professional street arts companies providing around 60 hours of free street theatre.

Caterina Loriggio, Arts Fresco’s Artistic Director, comments: ‘This funding is welcomed by the organising committee and enables us to develop the artistic programme, build on previous success and attract bigger and wider audiences.’

Laura Dyer, Executive Director, Arts Council England, East Midlands, says: ‘Street arts festivals such as Arts Fresco are a wonderful way of reaching wide audiences and encouraging people to take part and experience the arts. With this varied professional input the festival promises to be a great, free event which should appeal to thousands of people and visitors.’