• Imagineer’s giant Godiva is heading to the Godiva Festival (30 June – 2 July) for the first time and will welcome festival goers as they arrive.
  

• Imagineer in partnership with Media Mania present the Powerhouse Youth Zone, with a full line up of live music, aerial, dance, performance, visual art and creative workshops supporting creative young and emerging artists of Coventry.
  

• PLUS Media Mania launch the The Daimler Powerhouse artist development programme and Powerhouse Studios. Showcasing Youthful Cities: Coventry x Detroit – connecting young creatives from cities around the world.

• Full programme for the Powerhouse Youth Zone at Godiva Festival will be released on our website in upcoming days

Imagineer’s 6 metre giant Godiva, created for the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, is heading to Godiva Festival (30 June – 2 July) for the first time. A symbol of the ingenuity and industry of the West Midlands, Godiva – created through combining mechanical puppetry and modern animation techniques – will welcome all for a weekend of incredible live music including The Enemy, Rudimental and Melanie C as well as the very best of the Coventry music scene.

Imagineer and Media Mania will together present the Powerhouse Youth Zone for the Coventry City Council run festival, hosting The Resonate Stage. There will be live music and creative workshops supporting creative young people and emerging artists of Coventry with things to see, live music to hear and creative activities throughout the whole Festival weekend.

Kathi Leahy, Associate Producer, Imagineer said: “It’s wonderful that a year on from Godiva’s visit to London to Process in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Pageant she will be attending her first Godiva Festival! A symbol of Coventry and the wider West Midlands she will be welcoming visitors from the city and beyond to War Memorial Park.

“It’s brilliant to see the creative collaborations at the heart of the Daimler Powerhouse come to life in the Powerhouse Youth Zone for Godiva Festival, and to support and showcase young creatives across the city from Circus to Visual art, from theatre to music. Coventry is a Powerhouse of emerging talent and we look forward to co-producing the zone with Media Mania providing a platform to showcase that talent.” 

Imagineer’s giant Godiva will greet visitors to Godiva Festival

Councillor Abdul Salam Khan, Cabinet Member for Events and Deputy Leader at Coventry City Council, said: “Godiva Festival is an annual celebration for the city to enjoy, bringing together a number of organisations to showcase what Coventry has to offer.

“This year’s festival is going to be bigger than ever, and the crowd will be greeted by the iconic Godiva puppet for the first time. It will be fantastic to see this symbol of Coventry brought to life at this year’s event.”

The Powerhouse Youth Zone opens on Friday eve with an Urban Vibe, spoken word artists, singer-song writers, rappers and vocalists including featured artists Samo Songs and Duke Keats. On Saturday and Sunday the whole Zone is in action with full music stage line-up including headliners Hazz, Fyah Kamp and Friends, and Teedemba.

Imagineer and Media Mania host the Powerhouse Youth Zone at Godiva Festival

Look out for large scale visual art structures from Transformations (an Imagineer and Media Mania Programme for young people 16yrs – 29yrs not in employment, education or training), based on the concept of ‘Future Fantasy Cities’. The structures include a Lenticular, The DJ Shed, Island in the Sky, The Wonder Room  and an exhibition of models.

Youth focused services from across the city will be hosting activities and information including Grapevine Sensory Space, NHS Integrated sexual health services, Creative Optimistic Visions, Positive Youth Foundation, Coventry Boys and Girls Club, Highlife Centre, Stoke Heath Community Centre Youth Group and Rising Stars Youth Group.

On the ground and in the air expect High Wire Walkers and Aerial Performance from Circolombia performers and Rebel Manifesto Aerial, Dance from Elite and GAPA, performance from Open Theatre and the DJ Shed. For those wanting to get hands on there will be free activities so festival goers can imagine and make their own fantasy city, making their own city or collaborating with others, bringing it to life through model making.

There will also be the opportunity to try circus skills including wire walking, acrobatics and aerial hoop, interactive sound creation and puppeteering, with an opportunity to have a go at puppeteering Godiva herself.

Dave Mills, Media Mania said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Imagineer to create a brand new Youth Zone for the Godiva Festival celebrating Coventry’s creative young people as well as offering opportunities for families and young people to get creative themselves. 

“We are particularly proud that we are working with young people on every element of the delivery over the weekend including stage management and crewing, creating real life work experience for young people looking to work in the music industries and cultural events sector.” 

Councillor David Welsh, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities at Coventry City Council, said: “We’re delighted to be working with a number of Coventry’s creative organisations for this year’s Godiva Festival.

Our work in this area shows we continue to provide cultural opportunities across the city. Giving Coventry’s young creatives the chance to be involved with Godiva Festival will be an unforgettable experience and I wish them best of luck.”

During the weekend Media Mania and the Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit will launch ‘Coventry x Detroit’ An album of work created by 5 young musicians from Detroit and 5 from Coventry as part of the Youthful Cities Project. 

The Powerhouse Youth Zone is funded by The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, The European Social Fund, Youth Music, The Higgs Charity, Coventry City Council, Arts Council England, Coventry Building Society and Imagineer.

Transformations is supported by Your Vision Your Future. Your Vision Your Future is part funded by the European Social Fund and supported under the Youth Employment Initiative.

Tickets for Godiva Festival are available now. Adult day ticket prices start at just £8 and family day tickets start from £23. Find out more about the festival and purchase tickets via www.godivafestival.com