Tees Valley’s favourite family festival receives £30,000 grant towards milestone anniversary showcase
Tees Valley’s favourite family festival receives £30,000 grant towards milestone anniversary showcase
Today one of the North East’s longest running cultural events has announced some amazing news after being awarded a £30,000 grant from Arts Council England.
The Billingham International Folklore Festival of World Dance (BIFF) has received the amount from the Arts Council’s National Lottery Project Grants to help bring to life a series of events that will have people talking for years to come.
The money will be used to develop and deliver a thrilling spectacle entitled Departing at 18:25, which is inspired by the forthcoming 200th anniversary of the Darlington-Stockton Railways (1825-2025), and will form the centre piece to next year’s BIFF Festival.
‘Departing at 18:25’ will have audiences on the edge of their seats with its compelling narrative, emotive drama and heartfelt dance performances presented by over 100 characters with confirmed countries so far being Mexico, Colombia and the UK with more to follow.
The Darlington-Stockton Railways anniversary isn’t the only significant milestone being celebrated as the Billingham International Folklore Festival of World Dance is also turning sixty in 2025 as it marks six decades of offering Tees Valley audiences its elaborate brand of globetrotting entertainment.
The Festival will be bigger and better than ever with hundreds of dancers flocking to Billingham by air, sea or road to be part of the 60th celebrations. The party will quite literally take over the Town.
Olga Maloney, Artistic Director of Billingham International Folklore Festival of World Dance, said:
“These are exciting times for the Festival as we celebrate a massive milestone for our event and for the town itself. Not many festivals can boast our longevity and reach six decades of entertaining audiences and inspiring generation upon generation of up-and-coming dancers.
“We couldn’t have lasted this long without the love and support of local residents, the international dance community and our backers. 2025 promises to be an extra special year that will live long in the memory for years to come.
“The marriage of trains, dance, drama, education, music and culture will look to keep us on the right track to help make lovely memories and break new ground. It will be extra special as we can align our heritage celebrations with those of the 200th anniversary of the Darlington-Stockton Railways.
“BIFF 2025 will have something for everyone.”
Departing at 18:25 (a brief introduction): The storyline covers migration a topic never far from the international headlines, home and abroad.
The passengers on the train have life choices to make determined by their destination. The carriage represents the diversity of our community, made up from a multi-cultural society but as the train travels along the track the clickety-clack provides the rhythm of life.
We are all life tourists getting off at stations along the way to explore new opportunities and experiences, but we all make conscious decisions to board and disembark the train.
Melody and movement will recreate the actions of the train alongside awesome traditional and contemporary dancing. Add into the mix dashing roller skaters bringing motion to the proceedings and you have yourself a recipe for intrigue and delight.
Drama, dance, music and visual art will get your blood pumping and your pulse racing – you won’t want to get off the train of life. But sometimes your fate has already been decided and your destiny is only a station away. Do you stay on the train to continue your journey or has life already made that decision for you?
Jane Tarr, Director North, Arts Council England said:
“Billingham International Folklore Festival of World Dance is a long-running local favourite and I’m pleased that we are supporting next year’s iteration through our National Lottery Project Grants programme, especially as it will be the festival’s 60th year. We’re very excited about the 200th anniversary of the Darlington-Stockton Railways in 2025 and I’m sure that Departing at 18:25 will be a fantastic part of the celebrations and will be enjoyed by local and visiting audiences.”
The Next Step: There will be two taster performances being staged this November for ‘Departing at 18:25’ that will include 70-minute full length shows and workshops to give people an exciting insight into what they can expect next year.
They will be taking place on Friday 29th November at The Georgian Theatre, Stockton-on-Tees (7.30 pm) and Saturday 30th November at Theatre Hullabaloo, Darlington (8.00 pm). All seats are priced at £10. Tickets can be purchased directly from the BIFF What’s On box office (Stockton show) and from the Theatre Hullabaloo box office.
The £30,000 grant from the Arts Council forms a handsome part of our overall £100,000 target that we are looking to raise between now and August 2025. If any local businesses or organisations would like to sponsor or donate towards the Festival’s cause then please get in touch by emailing info@billinghamfestival.co.uk.
Also people can keep up to date about all things BIFF 2025 by visiting our website www.billinghamfestival.com
We can’t wait to welcome the world to Billingham for our 60th anniversary year.