A Festival of Hope!

The vaarks gather to watch the show as Ratvaark takes to the stage

Well, here we are, setting up for our Spring Festival, #Hopefest! Winston has stocked up with burgers and is hoping he might sell a watch or two on the side. Ofelia has cooked up another big paella, as it’s always popular.

Matilda anticipates a brisk trade in dreamcatchers and crystals and Vincent knows the donuts will go like hot cakes!

Fury has been testing the sound and lights. But she says she shouldn’t have let Winston set the sign up!

Nano has arranged special seating. As he told Dim, he can’t see anything if the grass is too tall!

Dim talks to Nano, who sits on a cushion, on a stool, above the long grass.

And so, it’s time to get started! Let’s get #Hopefest up and running!

First up, it’s the Beatles, with Octopus’s Garden!

 

Dim, Ernest, Winston and Vincent are dressed as the Beatles.

See, they’ve found themselves in a forest of wavy kelp!

the Beatles wander among rippling green strands of seaweed

And who’s this? Of course, it’s the Vaarktopus! He’s welcoming them to his garden, how lovely.

the Beatles talk to an octopus made from a sock and pipecleaners

But Winston seems a little distracted by this old ship wreck. What’s in this chest? Treasure! What a bit of luck!

Next, it’s Matilda and Dim with the classic Why do Birds?

Dim serenades Matilda, who sits on a swing

Oh look, it’s true. A bird HAS appeared! How sweet.

a parrot appears on the arm of the swing

Oh, and another. And another. And a duck!

Two ducks!

a knitted duck appears

Argh!

matilda is surprised by a large knitted robin appearing on the back of the swing

It’s all got a bit Hitchcock on stage, best back away slowly I think!

Dim and Matilda back away as a huge knitted canary appears and all the birds take over the swing

Now, having cleared the stage of birds, we’re just Watching Flowers in the Rain.

This is fun, as long as it’s not real rain!

vincent, ratvaark, ernest and esther dance with umbrellas, as strings of blue bead rain falls. There is a border of flowers behind them

Oops! It’s got a bit windy!

the strings of bead rain are angled, and the umbrellas have blown inside out.

Peggy, Micro and Bernard have another song about flowers now.

peggy, micro and bernard are on a bare stage

Where HAVE they all gone!

micro and bernard look around and peggy throws her arms up in consternation

Everyone, get looking for those flowers!

Ofelia has a song now, warning us to treasure what we’ve got before it’s gone.

ofelia sits on a tree stump with a guitarofelia sits on a tree stump with a guitar

Winston seems especially interested in this song, he looks like he’s really thinking about it.

winston comes close to the stage to listen

Oh. Oh dear. Oh Winston, that wasn’t quite the point!

winston holds an axe and has set up a tree museum with a sign saying $1.50

Ernest and Nano now, with Blowing in the Wind.

Ernest and nano are on stage, nano sitting on the tree stump.

Fury has of course set up the wind machine. Looks a bit powerful!

fury has set up a wind machine at the side of the stage

I think Arnold has spotted a potential breach of Health and Safety and he’s trying to stop Fury turning it on….

Ernest’s long snozzle is up in the air, having caught Nano mid air.

Nice catch Ernest! Nano says he feels quite invigorated, but he’s still not sure what the answer is!

A medley now as Arnold remembers his bike trip across the States.

The excitement of arriving in New York, and setting off across the country.

The new friends he made along the way, who kept him company, and helped him out when he needed it.

The hustle and bustle of Hollywood, and the stars over the Pacific, having travelled from coast to coast.

And now, back to the present, with a song and video we only recently discovered. Scare away the Dark by Passenger.

Bernard does look a bit down in the dumps at work. Perhaps Dim singing will cheer him up?

Well, he does look a bit happier, maybe it’s the greenery growing round his desk?

bernard looks at tendrils of greenery growing round his desk

Goodness, he’s thrown his tie away, that’s very relaxed for him! Good lord, you don’t think…

bernard has come out from behind his desk and thrown off his tie

Well! There’s a turn-up for the books! Never knew Bernard wore y-fronts!

Ernest and the backing singers are going to sing Lovely Day now.

ernest is on stage with winston, matilda and hypno as backing singers

Now then, will Ernest manage those really long notes?

Ernest is singing with his snozzle curled up

Lovely Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

Phew, he did it! Looks like he needs to get his breath back now though!

Ernest’s snozzle hangs limply and trails on the ground.

The Vaark Tabernacle Choir will now treat us to the beautiful Morning has Broken.

several of the vaarks are on stage wearing matching blue robes

Don’t they look good in their matching robes. Even Nano has one.

nano wears a tiny blue robe

Still, I do wonder if Arnold should have taken his h-vis off before putting his robe on!

arnolds hi-vis jacket is visible through the material of his robe.

And now, time for our grand finale. I’ll be singing It’s a Wonderful World.

ratvaark takes to the stage

“I see trees of green, red roses too, I see them bloom, for me and you. And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.”

“I see skies of blue, and clouds of white, the bright blessed day the dark sacred nights. And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.”

“The colours of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky, are also on the faces of the people passing by, I see friends shaking hands, saying how do you do. They’re really saying, I love you.”

“I hear babies cry, I watch them grow, they‘ll learn much more than I’ll ever know. And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.”

And that is it everyone, the end of our #Hopefest. Please stay safe, and hopeful, and be kind. It’s the vaark way. Oh, and eat biscuits.

All the vaarks are on stage with the attributes from the song.