Leamington Spa: Could lights festival return to town?

Ambitious plans to revive a lights festival that drew large crowds to a Warwickshire town in the 1950s are being considered



The Lights of Leamington ran in Royal Leamington Spa's Jephson Gardens for a decade between 1951 and 1961.

It was described as a "fairy tale of colour", and aimed to lift the mood of visitors who had faced years of austerity after the war.

Now Arts Council funding has been secured to conduct a feasibility study to see if a similar festival could be brought back to the town.

A Lights of Leamington steering group has published a collection of photographs from the 1950s, and is appealing for people's memories of the event, which ran through the summer and autumn.

Steering group member David Clargo said: "I don't remember the festival, but I know people who do, and we've looked in the archives.

"And the trees were all lit up, they brought in various installations. There was music, there was dancing. There was lots and lots of fun. People from all over the Midlands came to Leamington for that festival and people remember it fondly."

Mr Clargo added: "We know an awful lot of people remember, or even used to work on The Lights of Leamington, and there's always been, I think in the town, an ambition to try to bring back, reinvent, reimagine what that festival could be.

"So a small group of us got together and, through BID Leamington, have now got some money from the Arts Council to run a feasibility study.

"So that will really look at all the possibilities of how we would run a new festival that very much celebrates the heritage festival, but is very much about telling the story of Leamington today and we hope that in a few months' time, we'll have the results of that."

While reflecting on the success of a festival staged more than six decades ago, Mr Clargo said: "We're about a modern Leamington, and a forward-thinking Leamington and we're about a festival where we hope lots of people from Leamington, Warwickshire and the wider Midlands would want to come and enjoy."

So what are the chances of a feasibility study eventually becoming a fully-fledged festival?

"We're optimistic but we're realistic," said Mr Clargo. "This is a major project. This would be a very, very big, ambitious festival for the town and clearly that comes with a lot of issues, and a big price tag as well.

"So there are lots of things for us to to consider. I think what's really important in this feasibility study phase is to hear from as many people as possible.

"So that's why we want to talk to businesses, to local creative organisations and local people to find out what they want."

A Lights of Leamington steering group has published a collection of photographs from the 1950s

They're all in black & white unfortunately.

Thousands visit light festival exhibition



An exhibition showcasing the history of a lights festival is expected to hit 5,000 visitors this weekend, organisers said.

Switched On Stories features stories and mementoes from the Lights of Leamington festival which was held in the town during the 1950s and 60s.

The display at All Saint's Parish Church, Leamington Spa, aims to recreate "some of the magic of the original festival" and runs until Sunday.

Organisers said that the public's reaction to the exhibition, which started on 8 February, had been "incredible".

A light show inspired by the original Lights of Leamington festival is also running in the town until Sunday evening.

Smoke and colour have been lighting up Jephson Gardens and the Pump Room Gardens in addition to free workshops and and activities held in the town centre.

Story of historic light festival preserved in park



Permanent mementos of a "magical" light show that drew hundreds of thousands of visitors in the 1950s have been installed in a town park.

The annual Lights of Leamington dazzled visitors to Jephson Gardens between 1951 and 1961, with illuminated displays, fireworks, live music, and a floating ballet stage.

Local arts company Whittle Productions said five information panels had been placed around the park to share the festival's story with visitors.

Directors Carole Sleight and David Clargo said in a statement: "The Lights of Leamington was a magical and much-loved event that lit up our town and the lives of so many."

"To see it now recognised on permanent display in Jephson Gardens is a fitting tribute to all those who created, experienced and remembered it," they added.

The signage follows a project from the same team to capture more than 100 stories from people who remembered the event.

In addition, colourful light displays transformed the park and the nearby Pump Room Gardens over five evenings last February during the Spotlight Festival, held in tribute to it.

The panels were funded by lottery grants and money from Warwick District Council.

Portfolio holder for neighbourhood at the authority, Will Roberts, applauded Whittle Productions for their work in "preserving a key strand of Leamington's cultural history".

"The Lights of Leamington display panels are a welcome addition to Jephson Gardens, reminding people of the joy that this beautiful public space has brought and continues to bring to residents and visitors to our district over the decades," he added.