Storyhouse in Chester announce they are bringing WOW – Women of the World festival to the north west.

Storyhouse in Chester announce they are bringing WOW – Women of the World festival to the north west.

WOW festival was launched at London’s Southbank Centre in 2011 by Artistic Director Jude Kelly. It is now a global festival with 15 WOWs in five continents and over 1 million people involved across the world.

Organised by the team who will run Chester’s brand new £37m theatre, cinema and library and producers of Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre, WOW will take place the weekend of May 20 –21 2017, at the city’s new venue.

WOW Chester will have a line up of inspirational talks, performance, comedy, panel discussions, music, a marketplace, networking and workshops. The festival will provide a platform to celebrate women and girls, and examine the obstacles that prevent them from achieving their full potential. The festival will aim to bring women and men together to speak about how they are making the world a fairer place.

Jude Kelly CBE, Southbank Centre’s Artistic Director and founder of WOW, said: “Based on the premise that an equal world is better for all of us, WOW is a celebration not only of women and girls but of equality in all its forms. The festival is a celebration of the lives that women of all ages live, not just locally, but right across the world, the challenges they face, the gender issues that affect them, the indomitable spirit they have and the hope they give for the future.”

Kate Carpenter, Head of Programming for Storyhouse said “We want to share women’s stories. As a new cultural home for our communities it felt right to host the festival at Storyhouse. WOW will celebrate and challenge what it means to be a woman today. It will be a mixture of debates and discussions, performance and exchange. It’s for women and girls as well as men and boys – we want as many as possible to feel part of the festival.”

WOW Chester is being programmed collaboratively with individuals and organisations from across the country with ‘Thinkins’ that bring together local people to share ideas, suggestions and propose speakers, which will influence the shape of the topics, issues and debates at WOW Chester.

Ahead of WOW Chester in 2017, Storyhouse are holding ‘Thinkin’ sessions over the next few weeks. The sessions are taking place; Thursday 24 November between 7pm – 9pm and Friday 25 November between 10.00- 12pm both at the Unity Centre, Cuppin Street, and at Whitby Hall in Ellesmere Port on Saturday 26th November between 10.30 – 12.30pm.

The session is open to women and men, girls and boys. To take part and find out more visit  here