Overseas students from INTO Newcastle University will perform in a virtual music event tomorrow (Monday 3rd May) as part of Jesmond Community Festival.

The one-hour ‘Music with International Students’ event, which begins at 1pm, will showcase the work of INTO Productions, a group for international students with a passion for singing, dancing and acting. The group started in 2014 with a performance of Cinderella, and they have completed 17 shows since.

Event organiser Yvonne Wancke, who teaches maths at INTO, helped to set up the group. She told JesmondLocal that the group usually stages three shows a year. “It’s totally for fun, an extracurricular thing. It’s a great way for students to practise English, and to make friends,” she said.

The group was not able to put on the usual shows this year due to the pandemic. Wancke said: “Instead, I thought this year for the Jesmond Community Festival, it’d be really nice to do something online to show what we’ve done in the past. Because some of our students, if they were here, would be living in Jesmond.”

The event will be a collation of some of the work the group have done over the years, as well as some students speaking about their experiences at INTO Productions. “We’ve got students from China and the Middle East, South America, Africa, all over. And for most of them, they’ve never experienced anything like this before. It has been a lot of fun,” said Wancke.

The event will combine a variety of music and performance styles: “We’ve done things like musical theatre, we’ve done three Shakespeare plays, Disney shows, dance shows, absolutely all sorts.”

If you would like to attend the ‘Music with International Students’ virtual event, you can book your place by emailing yvonne.wancke@ncl.ac.uk.

More than 50 events are scheduled to take place during May as part of the Jesmond Community Festival. These events are organised by the 20-plus member and associated organisations of the Jesmond Community Forum. Event organisers this year include West Jesmond Primary School, Jesmond Pool and Gym, Friends of Jesmond Library, Jesmond Community Orchard, Newcastle Cricket Club, Church of the Holy Name, St George’s Church Bell Ringers, Jesmond Women’s Institute, Ouseburn Trust, Elders Council of Newcastle, Jesmond U3A, Holy Trinity Church, Jesmond Dementia Action Alliance, Friends of St George’s Church and Friends of Jesmond Old Cemetery. JesmondLocal‘s hustings event on Tuesday will also be part of this year’s festival.

Events have been organised to appeal to all age groups, from children’s stories read by the head teacher of West Jesmond School to wellbeing events organised for older people by Jesmond Library and the Elders Council. There’s a murder mystery evening, an online disco, Italian poetry and music and month-long fitness challenge.

In line with current public health advice, many events are taking place online, which organisers say makes it easier for people to join from across the city and beyond. However, several events are taking place out of doors, with events taking place outdoors later in May able to accommodate slightly larger numbers than those at the beginning of the month. All events are free, although some organisers are asking for voluntary donations.

The full festival programme can be viewed on www.jesmondcommunityfestival.co.uk or www.facebook.com/jesmondfestival and queries can be sent to info@jesmondfestival.org.uk