About Live The Dream Events
People with learning difficulties, and people without, work together equally to develop and run the Skillnet Group Music and Arts Project. We have workshops in Dover and Sittingbourne where we learn how to act, DJ, edit film, write and perform songs, set up all the equipment and do all the promotion involved around the events we do.
We use these skills to put on events - the last one being at the Leas Cliff Hall On 5th December 2007.
The festival involved artists and performers with learning difficulties and disabilities from all over Kent and further a field.
The aim of the festival was to get lots of people together to show the great things that people with learning difficulties can and do achieve.
We wanted to tell other people about the range of fantastic opportunities there are in Kent. We felt that these opportunities needed be celebrated.
About 200 people came to the festival alongside about 50 people with and without a learning difficulty working on the day as either artists/performers, stewards or technicians.
The Festival included Live Performances, Performing Arts, Visual Arts and Film, Presentation, Interactive Workshops, Stalls and Displays.
People were entertained by a variety of real talent which included: drama pieces from ‘Think on Thanet’ Theatre Group, Risky Business and Heart n’ Soul. There was a film from Doorway Drama, song writing with Angry Fish and art workshops. To finish the night live music came from the ‘Unknown Band’. People who came said there was an amazing atmosphere, which everyone thoroughly enjoyed.
We wanted people to be able to go away from the festival knowing a lot more about what is available in Kent and to realize that anything is possible!
This has been a fantastic opportunity for the Music and Arts Project and because of the festival’s success we have set up a new website so that the links that have begun can grow and develop and more people can get involved in the arts.
Some strong partnerships have been formed and we are already talking about working with United Response around planning our next festival which we are hoping will be in the summer months.
The Skillnet Group received funding from the Shepway District Partnership Group, Kent County Council and the Kent Partnership Board for Learning Disability to host this festival.
Many thanks go to everyone that supported this event and worked so hard to make it a success.
