Countdown To Festival of Arts & Culture

Hailsham is braced for a regional line-up of exceptionally talented artists and a feast of music, dance, drama, literature and street entertainment as the town prepares to host its annual Festival of Arts & Culture in September.

The Hailsham Festival of Arts & Culture, one of the highlights of the town’s events calendar, attracts a cross-section of artists and performers from the South East and further afield, and offers a wide variety of exhibits and performances to suit all tastes.

The 11-day series of events will take place at various locations in and around Hailsham from Thursday 10th September to Monday 21st September and is being organised for the ninth consecutive year by the Arts Festival Committee and the team at Gallery North.

There is a fantastic array of events lined up and confirmed performers announced for this year’s festival include the Cajun Dawgs and The Memphis Flyers.

There will be Cossack dancing and music at Hailsham Pavilion, a Flanders & Swann music-comedy performance, barn dancing, baroque singing, jive dance workshop and ‘open-mic’ event at Chapter 12 Wine Bar, as well as a music concert led by Hellingly Church Choir and other live music entertainment.

The program will also feature creative workshops at The Square Youth Cafe and Gallery North, an art history talk at Hailsham Methodist Hall, literary events at Callenders Restaurant and a poetry competition, as well as a Film Competition and an awards ceremony at Hailsham Pavilion as part of the line-up.

Hailsham Festival FM will be broadcasting for the duration of the festival (87.7 FM).

Town Mayor Councillor Nigel Coltman said: “Hailsham and the rest of East Sussex has such an amazingly rich seam of arts and culture. There is an amazing wealth of artistic talent and it will be an honour for me to be part of this year’s festival and invite the community to put the festival dates in their diaries.

“Alongside new events, old favourites will return to keep residents entertained and bring visitors from across the region to our fantastic and vibrant town.

Vice-Chairman of the Town Council’s Communities Committee Councillor Chriss Triandafyllou, said: “I’m sure festival organisers will surpass all expectations again this year with events, activities and workshops for all the family.

“On behalf of the Town Council, I’d like to thank those community groups and individuals in the town for all the hard work and generous support given to organising this year’s festival.

“We’re also extremely grateful to Jenny West and her team at Gallery North for putting together an exciting program for September, helping to make Hailsham a thriving cultural centre.

Arts Festival Committee member Josie Tipler said: “We never cease to be amazed at the generosity of businesses, organisations and individuals from the Hailsham area when it comes to supporting the arts.

“A huge amount of work is done behind the scenes by a small number of dedicated volunteers and we are hoping that this year’s events will encourage even more volunteers to get involved for the Festival’s 10th anniversary in 2016.

A full listing of events over the festival is available now. For more information, visit hailshamartsfestival.co.uk.