Our Annual Celebration of Dorset and the Dialect Poet William Barnes!
Each year Artsreach invites audiences to join them for their annual celebration of poet William Barnes, who was born in Bagber near Sturminster Newton on 22 February 1801. A scholar, linguist, artist, priest and inventor, Barnes wrote over 800 poems in the Dorset dialect. Barnes also relished the country dances, folksongs and carols of Dorset, and often wrote about community celebrations, where music was a key part of the proceedings.
Alongside a delicious cream tea, The Ridgeway Singers and Band, led by Phil Humphries and Tim Laycock, present a carefully curated programme that changes every year and includes folksongs and dance tunes collected from across Dorset at the turn of the 20th century. Recitals of some of Barnes' much-loved poems by members of the WIlliam Barnes Society helps keep alive the rich dialect of Dorset.
Our 'Tea with William Barnes' Trailer
Watch a replay of the 2025 event below
Artsreach is delighted to have formed a partnership with Pageant Productions to live stream this celebration in recent years, enabling audiences who are unable to attend in person to join in online from home. This has enables viewers from all over Dorset, the UK and overseas to join us! Whilst the live audience enjoy a cream tea at the interval, online viewers are treated to some bonus content to watch.
If you enjoy watching this free film, we'd encourage those who are able to make a donation to our charity, in turn supporting us to be able to live-stream future events.