Penrhys Pilgrims Festival 2008

The Penrhys Festival culminated its month long celebrations
with a fantastic evening of theatre, music and entertainment.

On the 470th Anniversary of the burning of the miraculous statue of Our Lady of Penrhys by Henry VIII,
the theme for the finale was FIRE.

Children from Penrhys Primary School worked with Carlton Bunce to perform Playing with Fire – the story of how the statue of Penrhys was taken to London to be burnt, but the children of Penrhys re-enacted this with the Deputy Mayor Cllr. Robert Smith setting light to a bonfire that was constructed.

The children (pilgrims) however plucked up the courage to extinguish the fire and miraculously amongst the charred remains of the bonfire stood a large piece of oak. This oak was then split open and inside stood an amazing 6 foot sculpture that had been designed and worked on by local children with the support of sculpture Peter Boyd.

The crowds who were not aware of the story gasped with amazement as the sculpture appeared from amongst the burning bonfire. The sculpture had been saved! Local residents will now have the choice of locating the sculpture in the community.

Deputy Mayor Cllr. Robert Smith presented the community with the Rhondda Cynon Taf Court of Arms for all the hard work that has been undertaken in developing the Festival. He said: "The local community has been preparing for the festival for the past 18 months and it was wonderful to see it was such a success."

Following this people were treated to 15th century music from Pavane and the amazing Robin and Bina Williams (ex Incredible String Band, with a mix of humorous stories and exquisite music which saw a capacity crowd at Canolfan Rhys Arts and Education Centre.

The finale to the festival did not disappoint with the much awaited performance of FIRE with Frenetic Engineering. Having previously performed at the Royal Wedding, Badminton Horse Trials, Glastonbury Festival and many more the backdrop to the event was the stunning Penrhys mountain on the spur of the Rhondda.

The show proved to be entertaining and awe-inspiring for all who witnessed this magnificent spectacular fire show. With perfectly choreographed feats of skill and artistry, all set to a funky, climactic soundtrack the performers played with Fire and the lights of the huge audience that gathered literally lit up.

Penrhys Partnership - organisers of the month long festival commented that the programme was a huge success, with thousands of people being treated to a range of celebratory events over the period. “We are delighted by the response of the local community and wider and the hard work that organisers, performers and volunteers have contributed has made these events capture the spirit of the community and raise aspirations on what can be achieved in the area. The bar is certainly raised and we hope to build on what has been achieved. We are also grateful for the support we have received from the Arts Council of Wales, Heritage Lottery Fund, the Creative Communities Programme and the Welsh Assembly Government Communities First Programme.”

Plans are now being developed to share this story throughout Wales and wider throughout 2009 and we welcome any venues that may be interested in hosting the Penrhys Pilgrims. A range of learning materials through different media – film, children’s workbooks, story telling, exhibitions are all available. What is remarkable is that the history of Penrhys is unique to the Rhondda and a story worth telling. If your group or school is interesting in learning more about the long history of Penrhys, please get in touch with the Penrhys Partnership on 01443 755008.

Or email:-penrhys@penrhyspartnership.co.uk