ADAM’s back, the festival which celebrates amazing Acomb

Once a close-knit farming community, Acomb has grown into a thriving township over the last half century, with its own distinct vibe and spirit.

Born last year, the ADAM Festival – it stands for Acomb Dance Arts and Music – was devised both to celebrate that diversity and to rebuild the suburb’s self-confidence after a tricky few years.

The festival was the idea of Keith Myers and Ned Lunn, and was rightly billed as the “biggest event Acomb has ever seen”.

Now it’s back and looks set to be a riot of song, dance, storytelling and art.

The programme

There’s plenty of live music. Mulholland perform their Yorkshire brand of Americana, while Emily Rowan sings her own songs with a theatrical punk cabaret twist, while playing the piano or ukelele.

Friendly community choir Supersingers perform everything from rock, to musical theatre and golden oldies.

Hedgepig Theatre, run by YorkMix blogger Andy Curry will perform Double Barrel, their short, original show based on stories by Dickens and Poe.

Meanwhile sister company Hoglets is running drama and storytelling classes for babies, toddlers and their parents.

Look out for a high energy performance from Roughshod Theatre Company whose shows are said to be “creative, comic, confounding”.

Vintage Velvet are an award winning line dance team. Watch them perform or join in yourself.

Or try Circle Dance which is all about bringing the community together.

The classic movie version of West Side Story will be screened at a pop up cinema in Poppleton Road Memorial Hall, starting at 7.30pm.

There’s lots of art to see, as well as storytelling sessions, an exhibition of photography, the ADAM Majorettes and a School’s Out Disco at the Carlton Tavern in the evening.

Here’s the full festival programme (PDF).