With art, artists and taking part at its heart, BENTWOOD platforms the rural queer experience, inviting people from all walks of life to celebrate together.

Get dressed up in your finest folky gear and join us at Ashburton recreation ground, where our afternoon starts with a folk dance procession workshop by performance artist, Bronwen Wilson Rashad which will eventually wind its way through the back streets of Ashburton to Rafikis cafe. Once gathered, we’ll cross the road to St. Lawrence Chapel where Anders Duckworth will, through masquerade and dance, delve into our collective psyches and our relationship to the shapeshifting queer power of the crow. Following this are some tantalising folk tales, told by beloved Dartmoor storyteller Henry Everett before Fionn Cox-Davies shares his album of ‘rip your guts out’ contemporary folk. Finally, we are back to Rafikis for drinks and dancing with funk/soul/disco beats from Penzance fav. DJ Kyra Norman.

All the info. you could possibly need will be sent out via email closer to the date including: timings, maps, parking, food & drink and what to wear!

Access: Rafikis and St Lawrence Chapel are fully accessible but please inform us in advance if you need disabled access

A bit more about the artists leading this event:
Henry Everett South Brent’s own storyteller/artist/writer (Pixie Folk Tales). Henry is our queer folkloric storyteller and host for the day.

Bronwen Wilson Rashad A performance artist and facilitator based in the Forest of Dean. Bronwen was recently awarded funding from Jerwood foundation to explore improvised folk dance.

Anders Duckworth A Devon-raised, British/Swedish, Trans, non-binary choreographer and visual artist and associate artist at The Place, London.

Fionn Cox-Davies A queer musician/performer born in South Brent and based in Ashburton. Fionn’s music is idiosyncratic, ‘rip your guts out’ contemporary folk.

Kyra Norman Artist, DJ and one half of Penzance’s beloved regular night, the ‘radical and heartfelt’ All In Disco.