The festival for gay women and their friends, held on Shrewsbury
Showground over the weekend of 23 July, saw hundreds of happy
campers enjoying entertainment from music to movies and from It's A
Knockout to speed dating.
The wide range of activities at the DIVA-sponsored shindig was
reflected in the ages of the festival-goers, with women aged 18 to
80 all living it up in the sunshine.
Highlights included performances by top singers Jill Jackson, Jo
Francis, Christina Novelli and Pink tribute act Vicky Jackson;
readings by much-loved authors Jackie Kay, Manda Scott and VG Lee,
plus poets Jay Bernard and Sophia Blackwell; a barn converted into
a cinema themed as "Grandma's Lounge" by Shropshire's Rainbow Film
Festival; and scenes from the lives of the audience turned into
magical moments by Queer Playback Theatre.
Sunday comedy from Laughing Cows packed out the indoor Pavilion
on the closing night and climaxed in a crowd-surfing stunt by
Barbara Nice, captured on the official video of the weekend on
YouTube (scroll down to view).
L Fest is the brainchild of Cindy Edwards of Stanstock Events,
who is delighted with the feedback and has already set the date for
next year. She says: "L Fest 2012 will be on the weekend of Friday
13 July - not so unlucky for some!"
And she adds: "We'll keep the same format for L Fest 2012. We
know numbers will be higher but we're going to make sure we keep
that friendly feeling that everyone loved this year. People are
already pre-registering for tickets at lfest.co.uk"
Cindy also promises a surprise extra event later this year, to
be announced in September. In the meantime, you can join in the
camaraderie on Facebook
