WOW! Fest
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WOW! Fest is free to attend but spaces are limited, so booking your free ticket is essential!
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Support WOW! Fest
💬 Donation Tiers & Perks:
£20+ Copy of the Violet and the Sea Giant Book
£25+ ADT Thermal Coffee Mug
£30+ ADT T-shirt
£50+ ADT Hoodie
£100+ An unique 5 min experience of flying on an aerial rig with the harness.
*** To receive your donation reward, please email us with the confirmation of your donation & your postage address or you can collect it from our Birmingham office
Headlining Performances
Experience Up in the Sky, a breathtaking outdoor aerial dance performance exploring themes of resilience, displacement, and hope. Witness dynamic aerial choreography and captivating storytelling on a striking 7-metre truss structure. Perfect for families and young audiences, this immersive show inspires connection and celebrates the strength of the human spirit.
Up in the Sky by Autin Dance Theatre
Age: 5+
Date: Friday 18th July 2025
Times: 12:45 & 18.15
Date: Saturday 19th July 2025
Times:12.45 & 16.15
West Midlands dance company Linden Dance promotes positivity, individuality and empowerment, championing diverse perspectives, backgrounds and creative voices in a strong, physical movement language which brings together Afro-fusion and Contemporary dance styles. Their explosive new outdoor dance piece CAGED follows four characters on a journey from solitude to connectedness. Performing inside and around a 3m high metal “birdcage”, the four performers explore ambiguous worlds of entrapment and safety, a delicate balance that ultimately leads to feelings of hope and reconciliation. The emotive themes are reflected in an athletic, daring physicality and a punchy soundtrack.
CAGED by Linden Dance Company
Age: 5+
Date: Friday 18th July 2025
Times: 12 & 16.30
Date: Saturday 19th July 2025
Times: 12 & 15.30
‘The Other Side’ is about selfishness and as humans, our desire for more.
The Other Side is a highly physical outdoor performance that tackles the ideas of bridging difference and divides in order to all benefit. Watch the performer realise that the only way to succeed will be by finding a way to work together, support each other and lift one another up.
The Other Side by Ascension Dance Company
All Ages
Date: Friday 18th July 2025
Times: 13.45 & 15.30
Date: Saturday 19th July 2025
Times: 13.45 & 17.15
This family friendly outdoor show follows Flynn, whose phone is consuming her mind, squashing her imagination and flair. Absorbed in her phone, she doesn’t notice the appearance of a large, mysterious four-legged creature.
Can she stop scrolling and start strolling with this magnificent creature? Will she leave behind her creature comforts and enter a world full of fun and magic! Come and celebrate the power of play, friendship and imagination.
Creature Comforts by Feet off the Ground
Age: 3+
Date: Friday 18th July 2025
Times: 14.30 & 17.15
Date: Saturday 19th July 2025
Times: 11.15 & 14.45
An arts activism piece that seeks to bring a change to the high and rising levels of mental health conditions in young people: creating work that seeks to re-address the ways young people regain positive mental health by connecting them to the power of dance, movement and embodiment.
Sign Spinning by Mercurial Dance
Age: 5+
Date: Friday 18th July 2025
Times: 11.45, 14.30, 15.30,17.00 & 18.00
Date: Saturday 19th July 2025
Times: 11.15, 13.00, 14.30, 16.00 & 17.00
Workshops
Want More Info?
For more information on our WOW Fest workshops, please click the button to your right.
Next Gen
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For more information on our school and community groups, please click the button to your right.
Creative Credits
Director:
Johnny Autin
Creative Producer:
Annalise McIntyre
Project coordinator:
Kirsten Tranter
Learning and Participation Coordinator:
Natasha Boyes
Technical Manager:
Jamie Higgins
Outdoor Arts Consultant:
Adam Towndrow
Stage Managers:
TBA
Music:
TBA
BSL Interpretor:
TBA
Performing acts:
Autin Dance Theatre, Linden Dance Company, Ascension Dance Company, Mercurial Dance, Feet off the Ground and more
Schools:
TBA
Community groups:
TBA
Youth groups:
TBA
Partners & Supporters
WOW! Fest Opportunities
Community Call Out Opportunity
They are inviting 10 youth dance groups from across Walsall and the Black Country to showcase their work as part of WOW! Fest on the Saturday programme, alongside professional performances from local dance companies and artists.
Volunteers Call Out
Digital Programme
How to get to WOW! Fest?
Getting Here By Car, Bus or Train?
We encourage attendees to make use of public transport where possible when travelling to the Arboretum.
What3Words: ///pilots.slide.noses
- Willows Road (5-min walk) served by buses 674, 77, 77A, 705, 788, 936, 22
- Broadway North (7-min walk)
- The Crescent (9-min walk)
- Lumley Road (10-min)
- Walsall Railway Station (15 min walk) on the West Midlands Railway line between Birmingham New Street and WolverhamptonFrom here, walk south-east through town to the Arboretum (about 0.7 mile)
- Bescot Stadium Station: also on the Chase Line (Wolverhampton–Birmingham)
If you require a Blue Badge parking space, please contact us in advance at so we can accommodate your needs.
Terms & Conditions
Accessibility
Our Sponsors & Supporters
Funders
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Funded by UK Gov, Walsall Council, Walsall MakerFest Fringe 2025, Arts Council England, West Midlands Combined Authority, Wellbeing Walsall, Healthy Walsall, Crowdfund Walsall, WS4 Dental Care, Optimax, Backstage Trust, Sport England & The Foyle Foundation
Partners & Supporters
Walsall Arboretum, Black Country Dance Hub, OPUS – Outdoor Places Unusual Spaces, Caldmore Community Garden, FABRIC, Birmingham Hippodrome, STEAMhouse – Birmingham City University & Royal Birmimgham Conservatoire
Get your FREE ticket now
WOW! Fest is free to attend but spaces are limited, so booking your free ticket is essential!
Upcoming Tour Dates
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