Events

On Saturday 21 June, Midsummer’s Day, Thame will proudly host its first ever Pride Festival.

The festival will celebrate inclusivity and diversity in Thame and its surrounding villages. The centre of the town will be closed to create a Pride Village hosting family-friendly entertainment and music on two stages. Stars of the West End and national television will take part thanks to their close allegiances with Thame.

Thame Pride has partnered with Lord Williams’s School, Thame Library, and Thame Town Council to offer a wide range of educational activities. Sports clubs are actively involved including Thame Women’s Rugby Club and Thame Runners who have organised a fundraiser in the spring of 2025.

Thame Town Council has given financial support and many local businesses are founding sponsors of the festival.

Deputy Mayor of Thame, David Dawson said, “The Thame Pride Festival is an important step forward for Thame. We are an increasingly diverse community and the Pride Festival will demonstrate what an inclusive and welcoming town we are. This is going to be a fun and informative weekend for everyone.”

The second “Carwithen Music Festival” will continue the celebration and legacy of Doreen Carwithen’s music, in the village of Haddenham, Buckinghamshire, where she was born. It will also continue to explore the connections between Doreen and other male/female composers of the time.

Dr Leah Broad’s book “Quartet”, published by Faber, and now the deserved winner of a Royal Philharmonic Society award, is the first book to celebrate Doreen’s life alongside other influential female composers. Leah will be at the festival to sign copies of her book and to narrate Friday night’s concert (July 11th) which features some wonderful music analysed in the book.

The Festival will again consider “Carwithen Connections”, where almost every piece of music performed will have some connection with Doreen or her family.

This year’s Festival will particularly focus on the music of Freda Swain, who lived in Chinnor, 6 miles from Doreen’s family home in Monks Risborough. Other featured female composers include Ina Boyle, Dorothy Howell and Rebecca Clarke.

Vaughan Williams was a great admirer of Doreen’s first String Quartet (which you can hear in the opening Festival concert). He was present at it’s first performance and their paths frequently crossed at Denham Film Studios where Doreen worked as a film composer from 1946. So, it would seem fitting to celebrate some of Vaughan William’s music, including the wonderful “On Wenlock Edge”. Other Carwithen influences to be explored include works by Delius and of course William Alwyn himself.

Debbie Wiseman, OBE, eminent film composer, returns as the Festival President and will bring the music she has composed to the Wolf Hall sequel (The Mirror And The Light) for BBC Television. During the first Carwithen Festival, Debbie unveiled a blue plaque commemorating Doreen’s birthplace in Haddenham. The exhibition that was in the birthplace will now take centre stage in St Mary’s Church, where most of the concerts will take place.

Finally, the second Festival will be rooted in community, engaging many facets of Haddenham’s thriving village atmosphere including the local museum, local history, and village societies. At the same time, the festival will act as a focal point nationally in celebrating Doreen’s music and her legacy.