THE organisers of the first Marches Makers Festival are delighted with the success of the event.

St Mary’s Church in Kington, proved a stunning backdrop to paintings, sculpture, jewellery, furniture, stone and metalwork, turned wood, textiles, handmade books and, appropriately, stained glass. Over 200 people attended the private view which covered the church and five other venues throughout the town.

Shannon Donovan, sculptor, of Leg of Mutton Gallery said, “It has been lovely to see local people coming in to see the artworks, including members of the farming and building community. It has brought people together.”

The sunny weather made it a bank holiday to enjoy, as people visited all of the 12 venues taking part in the exhibition. Harmony Handmade had people queuing along the High St to take part in the craft café, where they could choose from several small craft items to make. Local cafes and pubs also benefitted from the increased footfall in the town as visitor numbers increased.

The Old Police Station was well-attended with over 300 visitors over the weekend, while Studio 54 and Made in the Marches also had a successful festival show. The outdoor sculptures at Hergest Croft Gardens drew a lot of interest and several were sold. the Kington Art and Craft Market was held on Saturday and Sunday and offered added attractions in the live demonstrations of airbrush painting, papermaking, woodcarving, wool crafts and pottery.

The commission from the sales in the church went to St Mary’s General Fund to support much-needed work to the building. Ben Griffith, the vicar, welcomed the use of the church for an exhibition and the church team were very helpful in facilitating the transformation as hundreds of artworks were carefully displayed all around the building.

Annie Vickerstaff, one of the festival organisers, said, “Everyone has put so much time and energy into creating this festival and we are delighted that it has been such a success. We are all volunteers who have put in months of hard work to make an event that is good for local artisans and good for Kington. We want to say a big thank you to all the artists and makers who took a leap of faith and embraced this new event.” Many of the participating artists and makers had good sales and felt it had been a productive festival, saying that they would be very keen to take part next year.