Raising glass to new standards

The eyes of the glassmaking world will be fixed firmly on Stourbridge when the town plays host to the third International Festival of Glass.

Thousands of glass experts, artists and enthusiasts are flying in from across the globe in time for the launch on Friday. The event will continue until Monday. A special ale has been created by brewers especially for the festival to be sold in pubs around Stourbridge in honour of the big event.

Enville Brewery has launched the beer called Egyptian Gold to tie-in to one of the festival themes for this year.

The brew will be available at the main bar at the Ruskin Glass Centre during the event.

But as an added touch this year, other pubs in the town have agreed to stock the ale alongside regular brews to create a festival trail. Enville Ales Marketing Director Jerry Hedges said the company was delighted and proud to be associated with the prestigious event. "This benefits the wider local economy by linking the area's glass heritage with the modern contemporary glass movement.

"We hope our participation and the extension of our support out into the community through the festival trail will further help establish the festival as one of the leading arts and cultural events in the region."

The festival bar will be managed by directors of the brewery. The beer is 4.5 per cent and is a mid-strength bitter.

Stourbridge was once the glassmaking capital of the world and the festival links together all of the town's remaining historic glassmaking sites.

These include the Ruskin Glass Centre, Amblecote, Wordsley's Red House Glass Cone, Broadfield House Glass Museum, Kingswinford, and the Bonded Warehouse, Stourbridge, and other venues.

Events are also being held in Stourbridge town centre for the first time in the festival's history. Demonstrations, exhibitions, heritage walks, performances and lectures have been organised over the four days.

The centrepiece of the festival will be the 2008 British Glass Biennale, the UK's top showcase of contemporary glass featuring work by 82 of the country's leading artists.

All of the pieces have been judged for inclusion by a panel of experts and £14,000 will be awarded to the winning artist.

Pieces will be on display at the Ruskin Centre from 10am to 5pm throughout the festival. Another major event is an exhibition of dresses created from glass by artist Diana Dias-Leao.

The exhibition will be open daily at the Broadfield House Glass Museum, in Compton Drive, from 10am to 4pm.

A sculpture garden has been created for the event in the courtyard of the Ruskin Centre. The event will culminate in an outdoor Egyptian extravaganza on August 25 at the Ruskin Centre.