DN Light Night 2019 - by Doncaster Conversation Club

DN Light night 2019 was a new and fascinating experience for the people of Doncaster, as the latest in visual technology was brought into one of the Boroughs most iconic historic places, the Minster.

For several nights the interior of the building was transformed into a Cathedral of Light with an amazing and brilliantly choreographed visual smorgasbord. With subtle beams of light tracing out and dancing over its majestic columns and ribbed arches, the building was transformed into a living organism from another world. The music was specially commissioned and provided an excellent and fitting accompaniment to the spectacle.

The outside of the Minster was also brilliantly lit and there were visually stimulating activities and displays in the gardens, along with a good selection of foods and refreshments. Despite the bitterly cold weather, there was much to see and do for everyone and the event was a great success.

John Roe

The Festival of Light at Doncaster Minster was an unforgettable experience, a gift to the people who are the community of Doncaster and to the already memorable history of the Minster. That it can be preserved on film enhances the gift. There was a fusion of imagination and art forms and a real sense of community. It had the feeling of a true Scottish ceilidh, with something for all ages, a dance with its own rhythm and music.

And there was food!

This was a delicious reflection of the growing diversity of our community. It was a fusion of old, new, light, sound and deliciousness. Of growth and possibility.

Thank you!

Denise cann

I confess that I came to the Light Night somewhat unprepared.

I did expect a lighting display of some kind, but I hadn’t realised the significance of the story being told, animated by the special effects.

When I arrived, I found myself somewhere in the middle of the sequence, and consequently a little disorientated.

But disorientation can have positive outcomes, especially when assisted by some interpretative hints.

The broad palette of colours was spectacular and vivid, and expressed different moods as the story of the fire of 1853 unfolded. Careful use was made of the architectural features of the Minster, tracing the lines of the windows, pillars and roof. This was no random scattering of different colours, but a painstaking and attentive work of beauty illuminating stone and glass, line and movement.

It was good to see the Minster as a focus of community awareness. There is much to be learned from the history of Doncaster!

Paul Fitzpatrick

Please click on the video below to see a short documentary of the festival