An arts festival celebrating the ‘turbulent history’ of Bedwas is set to be held at Bedwas Workmen’s Hall.
The festival, organised by local artists Wendy Lewis, Annie Taber, Gill Zeiner and Marcus West, will be held between Saturday, October 26 and Monday, November 4.
The theme of the festival is ‘Conflict, resolution and harmony’.
The art exhibition will showcase work depicting local people and places, while a number of historians will be discussing topics such as the Spanish Civil War and the history of Bedwas.
Meanwhile, archive film footage of the village from the second half of the 20th century will be shown by Mike James – the son of David Rees James, a keen amateur photographer who ran James’ Emporium in Bedwas.
Bedwas-born filmmaker Karl Francis will also be speaking at the festival, while his 1985 documentary film about the miners’ strikes, Ms Rhymney Valley, will be shown on a big screen.
A number of animation, dance and singing workshops will take place during the festival.
The event will be rounded off in the main theatre on November 4, with animations created during the festival to be showcased, while funds will be raised for Ray’s Lift Appeal.
The appeal, named in honour of the late BTM councillor Ray Davies, was set up to raise money to install a lift at the workmen’s hall to improve access for disabled people.
The appeal aims to raise £80,000, and has so far raised around £55,000.
Tickets for the events will be available online from ticketsource.co.uk, with tickets to most events costing £3.