Why Cambridge will feature Out of the Ordinary scenes this weekend
The Out of The Ordinary outdoor arts festival is returning to the streets of Cambridge and Christ’s Pieces over August bank holiday weekend.
Street artists and performers entertained thousands last summer, with people stopping in their tracks to enjoy the unusual characters, hilarious scenes, colour and fun.
Performances will take place between 11am and 5pm on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 August on the city’s streets and Christ’s Pieces near the bus station, where people can relax, eat and drink and watch performance artists. The programme includes aerial theatre, visual comedy shows, music and dance as well as wellbeing activities and street food vendors.
The event is organised by Cambridge City Council and supported by Cambridge BID.
Becky Burrell, from Cambridge BID, said: “We’re delighted to be supporting Out of The Ordinary outdoor arts festival over the August bank holiday weekend. Cambridge city centre’s historic streets, together with the beautiful summery open space of Christ’s Pieces, will be filled with energy, excitement and colour as they become stages for artists and street performers, entertaining people with humour, imagination and physical theatre. Building on the success of last year, this free entertainment promises to be truly out of the ordinary and a great way to enjoy Cambridge even more over the holiday weekend.”
Highlights are set to include performance artists What the Tortoise Taught Us, who are wielding a giant tortoise puppet. There’s a chance to walk side by side with the reptile – help to feed her, stroke her enormous shell and be inspired by a close-up encounter with nature. Serving Sounds have a bar serving bass rather than beer. Visitors will find the usual glasses, beermats, the odd bit of change – but at this bar these items, when touched, will create a groove, a sound, strings, a snare, maybe a guitar.
Other performers over the weekend include hoola hooper extraordinaire, Angie Mack, with her large stack of hoops and some funky tunes, wowing everyone with her impromptu displays; also roaming the city centre will be InfuseDANCE’s Bodyguards, a team of highly trained dancing bodyguards ready to secure the area and humorously protect VIP members of the public.
Other top highlights include Highly Sprung’s CastAway, featuring a unique gyroscopic flying machine. The all-female cast immerses audiences in an underwater world where performers dive, twist and float over 26 feet in the air to spectacular effect.
Dance schools, musicians, artists and performers will also be showcasing their talents over the weekend.
