A day and a night of Arcadian revelry in the glorious grounds of Milton Manor

10am ‘til late - EVENT PHONE NUMBER: 07803 619034

THE FESTIVAL OF THE NINE MUSES - to be held in the romantic parkland of Milton Manor House in Oxfordshire, on SATURDAY 10TH JULY from 10am ‘til late.

The first in a nine-year cycle celebrating each of the beautiful daughters of Zeus, King of the Gods and Mnemosyne, Goddess of Memory: 2010’s festival will be dedicated to ERATO, the Muse of Love Poetry, though each of the muses will be venerated.

Daytime theatre and inspirational workshops will take place in grottoes, lakes and gardens, each short performance or talk inspired by one of the muses - love, comedy, history or epic saga etc. (be they fairytale, tragic or farcical). Art installations and sculpture will adorn the grounds, there will be a painting exhibition in the picturesque Georgian stables, while fortune-tellers, poets, Cupid Messengers and the faux newly-wed will revel in the walled garden.

The muses will be seen dancing gracefully at a party in the evening to the echoes of the Gods. There will be live performances from a number of talented Folk, Jazz and Classical musicians, including Johnny Flynn. The evening will end with a céilidh, a hog roast, bonfires to dance around, a lantern-lit woodland tavern and a fireworks display.

TICKETS

Tickets are available for purchase via PayPal here on the website or cheque, and include both the day and the evening’s festivities. Though this is an invitation-only festival, do pass on the names of friends and family that you’d like to bring along.

Adult : £20

Child : £10 - 5 to 14 years of age

Family : £50 - 2 x adults 2 x children

Click HERE to buy your tickets online

Please send cheques (made out to :THE NINE MUSES) Please send cheques payable to ‘The Nine Muses’ to

Ag MacKeith,
South View House,
Old Botley,
Oxford OX2 0JR

PLEASE MAKE SURE TO INCLUDE a stamped addressed envelope (A5 with 66p stamp) OR £3 postage (for up to 10 tickets) or £7.50 (for 10 tickets or more).

Entertainment

• Lady Henrietta Rous - Love Quack – there are no blues, lovesick or lonesome, that Lady Henrietta can’t cure with the correct dosage of love poetry
• Lonely Hearts Tree – a tree with magical powers: leave anonymous messages, hopes, desires…and see if they come true
• Tarot Card Reader
• Céilidh at Dusk
• Body Art Calligraphy – love poetry tattoos create walking art
• Cupid Messengers
• Be Married by a Muse, (as many times as you like) and choose from a selection of sacred poetical Muse-written vows
• Treasure Hunt in the Forbidden Woods
• Bonfire (of the Vanities! and the Vain)
• Fireworks Display
• Lantern-lit Woodland Tavern
• Late-Night Woodland Rave

Musicians

• HEADLINING : Johnny Flynn
• I Said Yes
• Me For Queen
• Whiskey & The Wilsons
• Edmund May & The Maybes
• Blueset
• The Amazing Ben Maier
• The Boy Icarus

Performances and Recitals

• Dramatic pieces from The Iliad and The Odyssey
• Scenes from Morte D’Arthur
• The Highwayman
• The Lady of Shalott
• Scenes from Romeo & Juliet
• Readings of Gerald Manley Hopkins’ poetry in the Chapel on Spiritual Love

Workshops etc..

• “The Great Bed Chamber for Erotic Love” or “How to woo a recalcitrant lover” - a workshop on writing and reciting Romantic verse with Mary Tate, founder and Company Director of Livewire Theatre Group
• “Romantic Calligraphy – the Art of Body and Soul”
• “The Language of Flowers”
• “Star Gazing and the Galaxy” - a workshop with Stuart Lynn, Oxford post-doctorate working on the Galaxy Zoo Citizen Science Project
• “Coracle-building & Rope-making” - with Alistair Phillips, who runs courses with The Official Coracle Society teaching ‘the skills of the forest’
• “Frederique and her Love Buns – Love and Poetry through Food”, by private caterer and chef Frederique Brenninkmeyer
• Life Drawing Class – with Charlotte Barker & Zara Idelson
• Sculpture- “Expressing Emotion Through Stone” – with Tom Allan, founder of the International Stone Sculpture Symposium
• Open Mic Poetry Hour
• “Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes” – readings for children by Chris de Souza, composer and presenter for BBC Radio 3
• African Dance – workshop with Rebecca Jeffries
• Guitar Lessons – with Fipsi Seilern

Artists

Fipsi Seilern – www.fipsiseilern.com
Sophie Mason – www.sophiemasonart.co.uk
Tom Allan - www.tomallen.co.uk
Joey O’Gorman - www.flickr.com/photos/joeyogorman
Valentina Lari www.valentinalari.co.uk
Tiny Nijman – www.tinynijmanart.com
Bee Bartlett – www.beebartlett.co.uk
Emma Franks – www.emmafranks.co.uk
Emmie van Biervliet – www.emmievb.com
Jonty Hurwitz/Binge Thinking - www.bingethinking.info
Steve Yeates – www.steveyeates.co.uk
Antonia Rolls - http://agracefuldeath.blogspot.com

THE NINE MUSES

Erato – Julia Burnett Armstrong - Muse of Love Poetry
Calliope – Annunciata Walton - Muse of Epic Poetry
Euterpe – Bryony Barling - Muse of Music
Polyhymnia – Jessica Tate - Muse of Eloquence
Clio – Leonie Hannan - Muse of History
Melpomene – Zoya Rous - Muse of Tragedy
Thalia – Isobel Barling - Muse of Comedy
Terpsichore – Lucy Worsley - Muse of Dancing
Urania – Phoebe Mortimer - Muse of Astronomy

ACCOMMODATION

Camping will be available in the grounds on Friday and Saturday night. (£10 per tent per night). Alternatively have a look at some local accommodation here

Food and Drink

There will be a bar with a range of refreshing drinks including the delicious Arckell's Summer Ale as well as various food stands such as a hog roast, Aberdeen Angus steak sandwiches and fresh salads, quiches and cakes.