This autumn, 11thour, a brand-new festival of art, light, and sound, will hit the streets and venues of King’s Lynn for one night only, bringing large-scale projections, light sculptures, street performers, rock and pop bands, short films, experimental music performances and more to the town’s central business district.

Open to all and free to attend, 11thour aims to bring fun, light, music and food to the town centre after dark. Participating venues so far include the Ferry Lane Social Club, St Nicholas’ Chapel, St George’s Guildhall, the Red Barn and White Barn, King’s Lynn Minster, Groundwork Gallery, the White Hart, and the high street – including Artertons, Ring Associates, and Norbury’s.

Performers and artists are yet to be announced, but in response to the festival’s open call, there have been many brilliant submissions hailing from King’s Lynn, Norwich, Cambridge, London and beyond – even as far afield as Italy.

The idea for an autumnal night festival sparked off during meetings of King’s Lynn creative community at Groundwork gallery. “We recognised both a large but hidden pool of creative talent in the town, and, at the same time, Lynn’s rich built heritage,” says organising team member Roy Brooks. “We wondered how we could take advantage of these two resources to bring greater appreciation to the town and enrich the cultural experience here?”

Organising team members include Groundwork Gallery owner Veronica Sekules, creative producer Roy Brooks, Helen Herbert of The Guildhall Singers, tech-based artists Pete Cleary and Karen Eng, musician John Kramarchuk, creative technologist Rachel Lawson and filmmaker and musician Gavin Toomey.

The name of the festival signals its pop-up nature: the team has only been working on it for a few weeks over the summer, but hopes that it will become an annual event with more opportunities to get involved in future.

11thour is funded by Discover King’s Lynn (BID), the Creative Community, and the Townscape Heritage Initiative, and with the support of Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk and Kirsty Gauntley of Churches Conservation Trust.

Says Brooks, “We hope that everyone from King’s Lynn and beyond will come out for this fun-filled festival and bring the town to life after hours.”