by Freddie Barker

Light Night Worcester is a FREE Arts festival that takes part in our city centre annually.

It’s a beautiful, buzzing, & brightly-coloured curation of outdoor installations: making internationally-acclaimed arts accessible to Worcestershire residents this February.

But what’s on offer at Light Night 2023? And what can first-timers – such as new students – expect from the celebrations?

Here’s a handy guide for Worcester students at Light Night, supplied by Poetry Society.

1. Save The Date!

Light Night will take place on 22nd & 23rd of February 2023. The festival runs on both nights – and is completely free*. It is based around Worcester city centre from 6pm until 9:30pm. No pre-booking is required.

*Though the festival itself is free, there may be costs from parking/transport; food & drink hospitality, including street vendors & businesses staying open late.

Though Light Night comes every year, each festival is different: so the 2023 installations are unlikely to appear back in Worcester any time soon.

2. Practicals: Packing List.

Some good things to bear in mind include things to bring/wear – to ensure enjoyment at the event.

– A weatherproof coat: Though spring is emerging, the temperature at night is still cold. Make sure you’ve got enough layers to stay warm – and bonus points for rain protection!

– Comfy shoes: If you’re within walking distance, can cycle, or access public transport – we’d recommend you utilise these, since car parking will be sparse. As the installations will be spread throughout the city centre, you’ll likely be getting your 10k steps.

– Charge your phone/camera: These mesmerising light-based pieces will be interactive, colourful, and photogenic. Perfect for social media, scrapbooking, and our students-only scavenger hunt!

3. Food, Drink, & Facilities…

From 5pm onwards, there will be food traders stationed at The Cornmarket to sell brownies, burgers, and more. Some businesses may also stay open late: including restaurants, bars, and sometimes cafes. Since Worcester only has a few public toilets (including Crowngate bus station, and Worcester Foregate station) – finding a pub could be useful in a pinch!

4. The installations you won’t want to miss!

This Light Night, the festival programme boasts of 9 unique installations to see. These include illuminated street theatre, giant lamps, inflatable floating sculptures, music, dance, & audio-visual illusions to entertain and immerse pedestrians with rainbow-y joy.

The festival programme can be found online, at: https://thearchesworcesterfestivals.co.uk/light-night/ — or you can flag down a volunteer* on the night, who will happily answer questions, or hand you a paper flyer and map.

*Volunteers will be wearing hi-vis jackets – in previous years, these were purple – and had the logos for Arches Festivals and Severn Arts sponsors on display.

This year, some of the most anticipated installations include:

– Lampounette by TILT: Giant office lamps shining down onto the streets as outdoor, rainbow spotlights on the public.

– Strobilophones by Picto Facto: A light-up theatrical show with floating puppets, dancers, and singers who interact with the audiences as they roam the streets.

– Colony by Mike Blow: A curation of large, tactile, sonic sculptures that surround and engulf the audience in “surreal, alien-like” sound and lights.

– Light Looper by The Kazimier: This is an interactive, light-up journey created to unite four participants – as players – to accelerate a particle of coloured light into the sky!

The line-up is looking wonderful: and a perfect nighttime break for those looking to feel inspired, mesmerised and energised.

5. Our exclusive, photography-based scavenger hunt: with a chance to win prizes!

Whether you’re going with a group, or venturing through Light Night 2023 alone – Poetry Society are offering a student-exclusive experience to win gift cards for books, stationary, & meals out.

To get involved, all you need is a scavenger hunt Treasure Map, which can be obtained in two ways:

For Free: For Poetry Society members at University of Worcester. You will receive the digital treasure map for free – via your student email on our mailing list.

For £1: For Worcester students who are not members of Poetry Society can make a one-off purchase via worcsu.com to receive their digital treasure map and compete for a chance to win vouchers!

Scavenger Hunt prize winners will be judged by the Poetry committee – and winners will be contacted via email – and announced via Instagram. – And, don’t worry, you won’t need any Poetry knowledge/experience to secure a top prize!

To view more details about our scavenger hunt event, go to: https://www.worcsu.com/events/10253/1749/

That’s all from us – we hope this guide was useful, and you enjoy this year’s Light Night festivities on 22nd & 23rd February 2023!!

To follow Poetry Society for our social & creative antics, find us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/uowpoetrysociety/