The Lakes Comic Art Festival in Bowness attracts thousands of people
THE RETURN of a unique comic festival to a new lakeside venue this year has been a “great success”, organizers say.
The iconic Lakes International Comic Art Festival took place over the weekend of Friday 14 October to Sunday – for the first time in Bowness after its previous nine incarnations in Kendal.
‘Thousands’ of visitors flocked to the festival, which showcased some of the world’s best comic artists and cartoonists at various locations around the city, including the Windermere Jetty Museum, and festival director Julie Tait said was delighted with the reception.
“It went really well – artists from all over the world are unanimously blown away by the venue, but also by the friendliness and friendliness of the festival,” she said.
“The numbers are quite big for our weekend pass holders, which shows that people are coming for a break as well as for the festival, which is great for the city.
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“We had a lot of people coming and going who didn’t even know it was happening, which is great because we’re always looking for new audiences.
“From a local perspective, it’s been a bit difficult to explain what it is.
“I hope for even greater buy-in from local people and businesses next year, because the key is that the festival is rooted in a local place.”
Highlights for visitors included Simpsons artist Bill Morrison and Charlie Adlard of The Walking Dead fame, but Julie said the opening night set the tone for the festival.
“We had a quiz show, Comics who love Comics, on opening night – Charlie Higson came, and I don’t think he knew what to expect, but he loved it,” a- she declared.
“But the local postman, Garry Gifford of the Bread and Butter Theater Company Barrow – he was the star of the show.
“The Lake District National Park also deserves a mention as they were fantastically supportive – they sponsored the festival and did a felt figure course for the kids which was wonderful.
“They were really helpful in marketing the whole event – they even let us redesign their logo for the festival, which surprised some people!”