Quaker presence at Greenbelt Festival
'Anaïs Mitchell, a singer-songwriter from Vermont, told the crowd about her Quaker upbringing.'
Quakers had a presence at the ‘arts, faith & justice’ Greenbelt Festival last month as Anaïs Mitchell took to the stage on the opening evening. A Meeting for Worship also took place on the Monday, with more than 100 people attending.
Anaïs Mitchell, a singer-songwriter from Vermont, told the crowd about her Quaker upbringing and said that, although she wouldn’t describe herself as a Christian, it seemed as though all her songs had that influence.
Playing in the grounds of Boughton House in Northamptonshire, the award-winning creator of the musical Hadestown filled the field with music at the first in-person gathering of the festival since before the pandemic.
Paul Northup, creative director for the festival, said this year’s theme ‘Wake Up’ was picked as it was ‘simple, direct and full of energy and hope. Something that would well and truly shake us from our slumber’.
A Meeting for Worship was hosted by local Friends and was well attended, with a significant number of people attending a Quaker Meeting for the first time (see next week for full report).
Speaking to the Friend earlier this year, Anaïs Mitchell described growing up with Quakerism, saying her parents first became Friends as a response to the Vietnam war. ‘My mom stayed with it and became very active with the Meeting,’ she said, ‘so I was raised within that community, and when I was a teenager I loved attending Quaker youth stuff. It was this beautiful scene: an alternative to my rural public high school… I have a lot of love and affinity for Quaker values, and my eight-year-old now attends Quaker First Day School virtually… she loves it.’ Other highlights included: Richard Dawkins; poet laureate Simon Armitage; singer-songwriter Kae Tempest; playwright Bonnie Greer; Caroline Lucas MP; and comedian Shaparak Khorsandi.
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