Vintage festival ready for take-off.
A brand new Vintage and Handmade Festival is ready for take-off at the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford. The festival weekend on 11th-12th August will be packed with all things retro vintage including live music, hands on crafts, a beauty parlour, re-enactors, period camp settings and even a Spitfire flypast both days – all guaranteed to keep vintage lovers entertained.
Local creators with a passion for their handmade, handcrafted products and carefully selected vintage wares will be showcased in the outdoor market, selling everything from art prints, vintage jewellery, glassware, bags, vintage clothes, crockery, bowties, cushions and preserves, all nestled amongst the VC10 and Hercules aircraft.
As well as the fabulous exhibitors, there will be plenty of live music taking place over the festival weekend for visitors to sing along and dance to including performances from The Ronnies, a four-piece close harmony group singing swing style songs from the 1940s and Miss Fortunes who will be treating festival goers to some 50s and 60s rock ‘n’ roll. Gloria Sunset, an acoustic duo playing jazz and blues from the 1920’s to the present and Joe Conner, an 18 year old doing a tribute on his banjo to the wartime comedian George Formby.
For those who really want to get into the vintage vibe, The Blusherettes will be bringing their pop-up beauty parlour with a team of beautifiers creating divine, authentic vintage looks with both hair and makeup! Why not treat yourself to some victory curls and the perfect lip and liner by booking yourself in the parlour for a vintage make over with prices ranging from £5-£30.
But it’s not just for the ladies, a beard and neck tidy and a MAN-i-cure is available for the gents even the youngsters can enjoy a Mini Blusherette makeover, with curled hair, glitter gloss and mini manicure.
Once your hair and make-up is done, why not head over to the selfie spot and try on some of the uniforms from the Museum’s handling collection and pose for photos in full vintage attire. A selection of artefacts will also be available for visitors to explore and use for photos as a fun memento of the day.
If you have any young inspiring crafters in the house, head to the Mini Makers tent which will be packed full of activities for little crafters like pom pom pilots, pom pom planes and a make do and mend session where youngsters can decorate their very own bag to take home using recycled fabrics. These drop-in thirty minute sessions are suitable for children aged 7-14 and cost £3 per person. Places are limited to thirty children per session so to guarantee your place, book online now.
A highlight for visitors both days will be spectacular flypast from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Spitfire both days, scheduled for 1.30pm on Saturday 11th and 11.25am on Sunday 12th August.
Re-enactment groups will also get visitors engaged with period settings, talks, demonstrations and displays and even a basic foot drill, where youngsters can participate in a marching based on period recruit training.
The Vintage and Handmade Festival will run from 10am to 5pm on both days and admission is £5 per adult, with family rates available. Tickets to the festival are now available to purchase in advance via the RAF Museum website www.rafmuseum.org/cosford. Festival goers will also be able to enjoy exploring the aircraft and exhibits on display at the RAF Museum Cosford – with their wristband on, they can pop in and out of the festival to the Museum throughout the day.
In addition to the parking at the Museum, there will be a free shuttle bus operating from the large car park at Cosford train station over the festival weekend. The bus will run continuously throughout the day and will drop visitor’s right at the entrance to the festival! Disabled parking is available at the museum and only assistance dogs are permitted into the festival and Museum hangars.