BRITISH FESTIVAL OF MINNESOTA:

The festival was organized through efforts of the British government, the British Council (the UK cultural exchange agency), and many Minnesota arts, cultural, business, and religious institutions. Its purpose was to publicize and celebrate the contributions made by English, Scottish, Welsh, and Irish peoples to the culture of Minnesota. The festival was planned as a series of closely related music and theatrical performances, art exhibits, and literary events in the Twin Cities. The festival was funded by $100,000 grants from both the British Council and the Honeywell Foundation (supplemented by additional fund raising), and was organized and led by a steering committee composed largely of local business and arts leaders.

The principal institutions that planned and performed or hosted the events were the Cathedral Church of St. Mark Music Series, the Children's Theatre Company, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the Minnesota Composers Forum, the Minnesota Opera, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Plymouth Music Series, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Guthrie Theatre, and the Walker Arts Center. The King's College Choir were the principal British performers, and the British Crown was represented by Princess Alexandra and the Honourable Angus Ogilvy. Local business sponsors included the Dayton-Hudson Corporation, Honeywell, and the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce. The principal events took place September-November 1985, although many associated events and activities by local cultural institutions stretched into 1986.

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The materials comprising the collection are largely copies of the records included in the briefing books kept by festival steering committee members. They include minutes, advertising and publicity plans and reports, budget materials, and printed matter issued by the festival or its planners. Sound and visual materials are also included.

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These documents are organized into the following sections:

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. British Festival of Minnesota Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples

Accession Information:

Accession number: 13,710

Processing Information:

Processed by: Kathryn A. Johnson, September 1998; Dennis Meissner, September 2002

Catalog ID number: 990017377060104294

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This series of material consists almost entirely of informational copies of minutes and reports, planning documents, background information, advertising and publicity issuances, and other materials compiled for use by the steering committee and other festival leaders. The three-ring binder from which these materials were removed was presumably one of a number of identical notebooks produced for that purpose.

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Advertising agencies -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

British Americans -- Minnesota -- Social life and customs.

Chamber music groups -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Choral societies -- Minnesota.

Choral societies -- Great Britain.

Ethnic festivals -- Minnesota.

Irish Americans -- Minnesota -- Social life and customs.

Opera companies -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

Scottish Americans -- Minnesota -- Social life and customs.

Welsh Americans -- Minnesota -- Social life and customs.

Persons:

Alexandra, Princess, granddaughter of George V, King of Great Britain, 1936-.

Organizations:

Children's Theatre Company (Minneapolis, Minn.).

Guthrie Theater.

King's College (University of Cambridge). Choir.

Minnesota Orchestra.

St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.

Document Types:

Audiocassettes.

Radio scripts.

Recipes.

Videocassettes.

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