A million-selling author, street entertainers, and literary performers, were among the attractions at the first ever WordFest at Market Rasen at the weekend.
The eagerly anticipated WordFest event took place in the market town on Saturday, entertaining visitors and locals alike with a variety of literary-based attractions.
WordFest has been organised by West Lindsey District Council in partnership with the town council, with funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
The events were staged at various locations in and around the town, with Festival Hall, the Old Police Station and the Advocate Arms, being the centres of most of the entertainment and activity.
Nick Louth, whose best-selling novels are read across the world, gave a talk in the library on writing thrillers, and spoke about his previous life as a foreign correspondent for Reuters and his journey to becoming a full-time author.
Elsewhere, at the Old Police Station, Ian Gouge performed his ‘Crash’ monologue, which looked at the different stages of a man’s life and the passing of time.
“I’ve really enjoyed the writing of this piece and have been working on honing the performance aspect of it for about a year and a half now - this is only the second performance like this I have ever done, and it’s been really enjoyable.”
Among other events and attractions saw Dr Caroline Mogg taking visitors on a heritage walk around Market Rasen, while the church was the venue for poetry reading by Paul Sutherland. The Advocate Arms welcomed author Keith Rylands-Bolton, who performed various readings, and Loretta Rivett gave a talk on the Lincolnshire Dialect in the OPS.
There was live music throughout the day and visitors also had the chance to ride the Ice Cream Line Vintage Book Bus to North Willingham ice-cream parlour.
Among the visitors on the day were John and Val from Middle Rasen. They said they’d enjoyed the day and the variety of events on offer.
“What attracted us and got us down here to start with was the heritage walk, particularly to find out more about the Boucherett sisters, and then we’ll be enjoying the other events happening today.”
Market Rasen Lions Club continued its fundraising efforts selling books in the market place, offering a large selection of titles for sale.
Elisabeth, who was at the stall with fellow club member Jill, said events like WordFest helped them raise money for good causes.
She said they’d had plenty of visitors to WordFest browsing their book collection.
“We’re a small club and one of the main ways in which we raise money is through selling books, so events like this really help us.”
Market Rasen Lions Club has a stall in Market Rasen twice a month on a Friday and has book stalls every Sunday morning at Hemswell indoor market.
Towns Manager at West Lindsey District Council, Nicola Marshall, said the event was a real success. She said:
“This is the first time we have staged this event and the feedback from visitors has shown it’s been a resounding success.
"The range of literary-based events and attractions appealed to visitors and has really brought the town together – I’m absolutely delighted. A big thank you to everyone who participated and supported.”
A WordFest is also set to take place in Gainsborough in September, further details on this will be released shortly.
