Wye Valley River Festival 2016 | Page 13

“ samovar Samovars hold pride of place for protracted communal tea drinking and is at the heart of festivities and celebrations in Russia, Central Europe and the Middle East. The samovar heats and boils water for tea. A ceremony that embodies warm-hearted hospitality and inclusivity always centres around the Samovar. A Samovar was commissioned for the Wye Valley River Festival to be the heart of the travelling Wye Serai. It was designed by And Now and built by one of the leading moonshine still makers in Arkansas USA using time honoured copper working skills. Copper has been used for millenia to provide safe storage for water and food production, it is naturally anti-microbial. The Samovar is fuelled by wood and charcoal from the Wye Valley. Central to our work, fire present and important in all cultures, speaks; it is symbolically strong; connecting with our primal beings, it inspires focusses and quickens minds. The energy of fire engages with emotions, passion, transformation, purification, contemplation, ceremony, wildness and beauty. And Now find opportunities for audiences to engage with the immediacy of their surroundings; creating work that focuses and draws together visual, cultural, social, historical and geographical contexts. and now ” trick lin If you like taking your time over your tea, have a sit down by the Samovar, listen to stories from the Wye Valley and enjoy a cup of restorative Wye Serai Tea generously provided by Mon Teas of Monmouth. www.andnow.co.uk monteas.co.uk g