THE tenth anniversary Kidderminster Arts Festival has been hailed as the most successful ever.

The mainly free two-week festival, organised by Wyre Forest District Council, brought fun and entertainment in all corners of the town.

KAF 2013 successfully exposed the public to some of the best local and national talent. Organisers said this year had got more and more people involved and enthusiastic about the arts than ever before.

Loz Samuels, the district council’s arts and play development officer, said: “For the people of Kidderminster and the surrounding area to come together over the past two weeks and appreciate the programme of events on show like they have has been astounding.

“Judging by the number of positive comments and feedback forms we have received it has definitely been the most successful festival yet. We couldn’t have done it without the dedication of our partners as well as the many local artists and volunteers involved.”

There was an overwhelmingly positive response to the Carpet Forest, judging by the large numbers through the door at the town hall and the positive words left in the comments book.

One visitor said that they thought that the installation would not look out of place at the Royal Academy. These comments are a glowing endorsement to the artists who made the forest and have created a memory that will last long in the minds of the people who visited. Efforts to relocate the forest for another showing are ongoing. In the first week, the highlights included ‘Made in Kidderminster’, demonstrating how past generations experienced play, and a fun day in St George’s Park including The Flying Machine show, The Lady and the Sax blew Kidderminster away with their toe-tapping tunes and weary travellers Hodman Dodmanott’s and Sally Forth’s irresistible charm saw them make swathes of new friends around town.

The show Limbo by the Chandelier Horse Company adopted a Big Brother-style concept, with four participants spending 12 hours in a box competing to be the winner of the public votes. Attendance numbers beat the figures for the show at the Edinburgh Festival, while more than 200 people watched a show inside the belly of the Whalley Range Allstars giant inflatable pig outside the town hall.

The final week got off to a flying start with the drumming workshop with Tim Scarborough selling-out and receiving glowing reviews.

Clay Time, a play with clay, proved popular with children while renowned slack rope walker Kwabana Lindsay’s first visit to Kidderminster was a big hit.

Terry’s Carpet Bizarre was perfectly suited to Kidderminster as Terry and his sales assistant Vic took the public on a hilarious adventure through the world of carpets.

The district council’s own choir performed popular sing-along classics on their debut appearance in the town.

The ‘Spurting Man’ stood outside the town hall as his downtrodden assistant worked to assist him with the transformation from human to human fountain and give the audience a soaking to remember.

Jolly Holiday were also around the town exploring the sights of Kidderminster on their summer holiday.

The post-KAF clean up is under way and preparations for next year’s festival have begun. For those who would like to be involved contact Loz Samuels at arts@wyreforestdc.gov.uk