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The woman who made Suffolk weird and wonderful

Cad TaylorSuffolk
News imagesupplied A woman smiles broadly at the camera. She is wearing sunglasses and a colourful knitted jacket. She has grey hair and her nails are painted pink. She is seated in a wheelchair that is adorned with flowers. supplied
Celebrations are taking place for the life of arts producer and festival creator Tarby Davenport

Members of the arts and entertainment industries gathered on Thursday to celebrate the life of Suffolk-based arts producer, Tarby Davenport, who died last month aged 89.

Davenport developed spaces for performers, artists, makers and families in the county and founded The Weird and Wonderful Wood festival 30 years ago.

She moved to Wetherden, Suffolk, in the mid-1970s in search of an alternative lifestyle for her family after finding London too expensive.

Sarah Barker, Davenport's oldest child, said: "She spent her career creating opportunities for performers and making the arts accessible to people who might otherwise have been priced out."

Davenport was made an MBE for services to arts in the community in Suffolk in the 2022 New Year Honours.

'Gridlocked by hippies'

News imageCad Taylor/BBC Four spotted horses with brightly coloured plumes on their heads pull a wage with a coffin on it. A man with a long red coat holds the front horses and a man in a top hat drives the carriageCad Taylor/BBC
Hundreds gathered in Wetherden for Tarby Davenport's funeral

After Davenport settled in Wetherden, she began to put on events in the village hall that aimed to bring people together and create a new artistic scene.

In 1975 she brought a line-up of folk artists to Bury St Edmunds Corn Exchange, including Fairport Convention, June Tabor, The Watersons and The Seegers.

The concert reportedly sold out in minutes with queues stretching through the town.

The Bury Free Press reported the town had been "gridlocked by hippies", which prompted Bury St Edmunds Town Council to reassure residents that Davenport would not be allowed to put on another event there.

News imageCad Taylor A woman smiles broadly at the camera. She has purple hair and is wearing a black cardigan with a leopard-print faux fur collar. She is standing in front of a wall with a number of posters attached that are advertising gigs.Cad Taylor
Sarah Barker, Tarby Davenport's daughter, says her mother's energy and vision was infectious

Barker said: "Growing up with Tarby meant living in a house where the door was always open, creativity was everywhere and there was invariably enough food for whoever happened to arrive".

"My mum would always have this huge pot of soup on the go and everyone was offered a bowl as soon as they came in.

"Mum was putting on events our whole lives, from village halls to the Millennium Dome."

Medieval punk

News imageSupplied An acrobat troupe are spinning a man in the air. There are a number of people watching. The performers are dressed in yellow and red outfits. Supplied
The Weird and Wonderful Wood festival keeps the spirit of the old tree fairs alive

Barker said her mum's artistic vision was "infectious" and it led her to take over running The Weird and Wonderful Wood in Haughley Park.

The festival, which was founded by Davenport in 1994, began as a small, affordable, family-friendly celebration of woodlands and traditional crafts.

The two-day event now attracts over 10,000 people to enjoy circus performances, music and crafts.

Barker described her mother's world as "somewhere between medieval and punk".

News imageJohn Row A man smiles at the camera. He has a long white beard and is wearing a red top hat and colourful shirt and waistcoat. He has a stalf in his right hand and is sitting in front of a colourful wagon. John Row
John Row, a regular storyteller at festivals across the globe, says Davenport's work was important

John Row, a storyteller who worked at The Weird and Wonderful Wood, said Davenport had "the most important effect on arts in East Anglia over the last 50 years".

"Back in the early 90s, when it was tough for artists to make a living, she kept so many of us in work," he said.

He praised her contribution to the artistic scene in Suffolk and her love of championing young people, inviting them to volunteer at her annual Halloween events.

"Everyone was welcome," he added.

Davenport's career included work at the Millennium Dome, the Commonwealth Games and Glastonbury, though Barker says her mum "stepped back from Glastonbury when she felt it had become unaffordable for most people".

News imageBBC Suffolk A young woman plays guitar in a BBC Music Introducing studio. She is standing in front of a microphone with headphones on. She is wearing a black and red flowery dress and has dark hair. BBC Suffolk
Musician Bessie Turner says Tarby Davenport opened doors for others and showed them a big world

Musician Bessie Turner said her sense of community came from growing up around Davenport, who gave her some of her earliest performance opportunities.

"She was someone who opened doors for others. In a world full of suits and policies and men, I learned what a woman could be," she said.

"Being asked by her to sell raffle tickets at the age of four in Wetherden village hall was so memorable and I will remember those evenings she created.

"She opened up a whole wide world to me and I will be eternally grateful".

News imageCad Taylor/BBC A man with long hair and wearing a hat stands in front of an impressionist painting of an image of a face. Cad Taylor/BBC
Lightning says Suffolk life would have been very boring for him without Davenport

Lightning, a street entertainer and circus performer, said meeting Davenport changed the course of his life.

He said that coming from a Suffolk farming family, he had assumed he would follow the same path.

"All my family are farmers, and I thought, 'Oh, I'm going to be a farmer'.

"Then I met Tarby and went, 'Oh, hang on. I'm not going to be a farmer'," he said.

"She introduced me to so many people. It inspired me and drove me to do what I do. I went to perform at the Royal Albert Hall, the Millennium Dome and the many grassroots events in East Anglia.

"Growing up in Suffolk would simply not have been anywhere near as much fun without Tarby Davenport," he said.

Listen to Tarby talk about her own life

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