RETIRED QC and author, Martin Wilson is the new chairman of the Trustees of the Broadway Arts Festival Trust following the retirement of art dealer John Noot, who will continue as a trustee.

Broadway Arts Festival was created in 2010 to hold a festival every two years. It was inspired by the fact that Broadway and its surrounding area had a long association with famous names in the arts: William Morris, the ‘Broadway Colony’ which included John Singer Sargent, J.M. Barrie, Francis Millet; and Henry James, Edward Elgar and Sir Gordon Russell, among many others. It has also expanded to cover the arts in various forms, including painting, music, literature and drama.

Mr Wilson said: “With the recent appointment as Patron of Sir Roy Strong, the art historian, brioadcaster and landscape designer and former director of both the National Portrait Gallery and Victoria and Albert Museum, the trustees are hoping to increase the national and international appeal of the Festival. We already have a significant following in the USA.

“We also hold events during the period between festivals. On Mid Summer’s day there was a very successful and enjoyable afternoon and evening on the Green, starting with a children’s procession led by the Bretforton Silver Band, followed by a circus and music. On August 1 we will have a dinner and performance by one of the world’s finest classical guitarists, Xuefei Yang.”

The programme for the 2016 festival is in the final stages of of being drawn up. There will be art exhibitions, art workshops, musical performances, talks by several very wlell-known speakers, garden visits and many other events.

For more information visit Http://broadwayartsfestival.com/