​We may all be in the middle of the Coronavirus pandemic but nothing is going to stop local charity, Arts Taunton from delivering its youth festival, Tyca 2020 this year.
“The festival may be live, it may be virtual, but it will be interactive and happening!” said Arts Taunton’s Tyca Festival Director, Deborah Baddoo.

The charity has recognised that young people are bored and struggling with motivation, so they are kicking off the Festival immediately with a series of weekly artistic challenges.
Ms Baddoo explains: “Our theme for this year’s Festival is: 2020 Future Vision.
“The pandemic has shown how, suddenly and dramatically, the world can change.
“What will happen next? When will we come through this? Will we do things differently - especially for the environment and ecology? We are sure this lockdown will feed your imaginations!”

​With each weekly theme relating to 2020 Future Vision, there will be a £20 prize for the best entry in each age group, each week. And at the end of 4 weeks there will have a £100 grand prize for the overall winner in each age group.

Week One of the Tyca Challenge is already up on the festival website with full information on how you can enter, and suggestions for ideas. The competition is open to anyone living in Taunton and the surrounding areas who are aged up to 25 years old. The three categories are: 10 years and under, 11-15 and 16-25 year olds.

The charity is appealing to anyone who is in contact with young people within this age group to ask them to visit the website www.tycafestival.co.uk and enter the weekly challenge. People can also follow progress on Instagram and Facebook (@tycafestival) and the artist pieces will also be displayed on the Tyca website.

Genius Events are thrilled to unveil Taunton’s Premier Comedy Club! A new and exciting bi-monthly Stand Up Comedy Evening to be held at CICCIC’s amazing Memorial Hall in Paul St, Taunton. Our opening night is Friday 10 April! CICCIC is the home of Stand Up For Cider. For this exciting new show, it is being transformed into an intimate club with an amazing atmosphere. 

We’ve pulled out all the stops to bring you the most exciting acts from across the UK and pop them on stage in Taunton. 

You’ll get the chance to see several comedians on the night from up and coming local talent to the cream of the UK Comedy Circuit. We are also planning on bringing some well-known comedians who like to test their material at small clubs like Genius Comedy Club before they take it to the Edinburgh Comedy Festival or out on Tour. 

The evening will be unadulterated, full of surprises and have you laughing all the way through the weekend. So why not relax in comfort, enjoy a drink or three, while we take you on a few hours journey of forgetting your worries. 

Laughing is good for your health – so come along and exercise your chuckle muscles! 
Tickets are limited and booking is advised. See website for full line-up. 

Doors open at 7.30pm for an 8.00pm start and tickets costing £10 are available now by calling 01823 337477 or visit CICCIC BOX OFFICE (£12 on the door – if any are left!) 
Stay tuned for updates! 

www.geniusprandevents.co.uk

An AWAKEN celebration evening of music, coffee and faith will be taking place for young adults (18-30s) at Company Spaces, Taunton on Friday 13th March at 8pm.
 
A live band from Bath called ‘Orphan No More’ will be performing some of their recent songs. ‘Orphan No More’ recently headlined at a large Summer Festival called David’s Tent near London where 6,000 young adults gathered to worship, sing and connect.
 
Sam Burton, founder of Awaken, shares: “This evening will be an inspiring night, our heart is to see young adults connected across this region in community. Our generation can be the most connected generation ever to have lived on the planet but also the loneliest, these evenings are a space to be family. ‘Orphan No More’ are incredibly gifted and carry something special, I truly believe that there should be no one orphaned in our community. We need places to belong. On the Awaken nights we see both church people and non-church people coming to these events to connect as a generation and if you are a young adult we would love to see you at this free event. We always have plenty of cake, coffee, music and also take space for hearing from God and opportunity to receive personal prayer for anything too and we are all about encouraging this generation to try Jesus. To find out more about future events you can follow our Facebook and Instagram pages”.
 
To book your free ticket head to: www.worshipawaken.com
 
If you are not a young adult and would like to see them, they are playing for an joint Churches event in Wellington at Court Fields School on Saturday 14th March at 7pm. For further details check out Life Central Church Wellington website.
 
Photo: Orphan No More Band Photo.
 
Further questions email:
awakensomerset@gmail.com
sam@sam-burton.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/WorshipAwaken
 
Awaken are a community of young adults led by a collection of people from different churches with a heart to serve the local community. 
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