Macclesfield multimedia culture celebration Barnaby Bright has unveiled a collection of midsummer events and commissions to coincide with the summer solstice.

Barnaby Bright is a collection of midsummer events that will take place this June around the summer solstice in the historic spaces of Macclesfield town centre, brought to you by the team at Barnaby Festival.

Barnaby Bright takes its name from an old folk rhyme, which refers to the longest day on June 21: 'Barnaby bright, Barnaby bright, Light all day and light all night'.

As the town starts to reopen its venues Barnaby Bright is a celebration of culture and community in Macclesfield and an opportunity for people to come out and participate.

The programme will feature contemporary art, live performance, a music showcase, a showreel parade,

Walking tours and a Macclesfield cartoonist workshop will also be provided, proving that whatever your hobby, Barnaby has you covered.

Macc Pow, the event that has brought comic creators from all over the world to Macclesfield since 2016, will be hosting two cartoonist workshops for anyone who wants to start creating cartoons.

Marc Jackson will be hosting two, one-hour workshops of furiously fun felt-tip pen action to draw out the bright stars of cartoon and animation's future.

Another highlight will be a A Midsummer Night's Queen on June 26.

It will be one-of-a-kind Shakespearean twinged drag cabaret evening for Macclesfield, inspired by the play set at the same time of year as Barnaby.

There will be a dressing room area upstairs at Mash Guru with rails of clothes and wigs in the frocks and locks area.

The aim is to invite guests who are new to drag to dress up and gain expert advice from the more experienced queens.

Mash Guru will host the evening and participants will be giving RuPaul a stiletto-clad run for his money.

Elsewhere, Presence is a new large-scale, site-specific commission by British contemporary artist Liz West that will be situated in the Grade II* listed Christ Church on Roe Street in Macclesfield.

Presence will transform the space taking the form of a tunnel, created from iridescent dichroic panels creating a kaleidoscopic artery down the centre of the church.

Our Future is Ancient is a multimedia piece of work inspired by Macclesfield Forest, by Salford-based artist Simon Buckley who works under the name of Not Quite Light.

Their Our Future is Ancient artwork forms three parts; a performance of words and live music; an exhibition of film and images and a walking tour of the ginnels in Macclesfield to bring the forest into the town.

Macclesfield music venue Mash Guru is working with Brighter Sound, a Manchester-based creative music charity to showcase the latest musical talent in Macclesfield though a programme of gigs and music master classes that will be hosted both online and at Mash Guru on Back Wall Gate.

Macc Assemble is also this year's Barnaby Bright parade.

The Macclesfield film showcase will be virtual and take the form of a showreel arranged by arts collective IDST which will be screened at St Michael's and All Angels Church in Market Place.

Socially distanced outdoor workshops are available for individuals, bubbles and families to take part. The show reel will capture snapshots of the vibrant spirit of the individuals and communities in Macclesfield.

Barnaby will also feature its very own locally-brewed beer by Macclesfield's Red Willow Brewery, who have a premises on Byrons Lane.

The Barnaby Bright Beer will be a hoppy, midsummer ale specially brewed for the programme of events, with artwork by Sue Asbury.

It will be available in canned and draught form in Macclesfield closer to the festival.

Dr Abi Gilmore, Co-chair of Barnaby Festival, said: "We are over the moon to be able to bring a small programme of events to Macclesfield this summer.

"Barnaby Bright is a celebration around the summer solstice where we can look at taking steps to join together to support our venues and community and to enjoy the creativity in Macclesfield.

"Although the programme is not the full-fat Barnaby Festival we are so happy to be able to animate the town centre again in a safe and friendly way."

The event will close with a Barnaby Bright Treacle Market on Sunday June 27, which will be the third Treacle Market of 2021.

Macclesfield's Barnaby Bright is brought to you by the team at Barnaby Festival.

All events will be delivered with measures in place to comply with COVID-19 restrictions.

Social distancing will be monitored carefully. For full programme information and ticketing please look on Barnaby Festival's website.

Last week we reported on the Barnaby film and music projects

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