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A message from the Festival President, the internationally acclaimed opera singer, Sarah Walker CBE “I am honoured to be President of the year’s Tavistock Music and Arts Festival. I send all those involved best wishes for a successful and enjoyable seven days of art, literary and musical events.” |
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The 2009 Festival Theme - the Three Hares - the remarkable Tale of Tavistock's Sacred Link with Ancient China. 
The Three Hares - In the ceiling of the St. Mary Magdalene Chapel in St. Eustachius Church, Tavistock's Parish Church, is a carving of three rabbit-like creatures apparently eating leaves of some plant. Wrongly attributed to the tinners, with whom it has no connection, it forms part of a group of similar medieval carvings distributed widely in Devon and representing most probably, three hares. Fascinatingly, this very motif was given sacred status in at least four of the religions of the old world (Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Judaism). The oldest known examples occur in painted caves in China, dating to about AD 600, but others occur elsewhere in the Near East and on continental Europe. Work in in progress to understand the meaning of the symbol and its transmission across cultures and continents. That it was shared between religions and admired by artists and craftsmen over many centuries is perhaps an important message for our own time. 2009 Event DATES 28th April - 4th May 2009
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