Suffolk Festivals
Suffolk Festivals
Suffolk is the place to come for Festivals, with everything from star studded events such as High Tide and Latitude, to the action packed Lowestoft Air Festival and Honda Formula 4 stoke engine series....
SUFFOLK FESTIVALS
The Suffolk Villages Festival Winter Series 2010 - February, March & May
The 9th Aldeburgh Literary Festival - 5th - 7th March 2010
Jimmy's Science Festival - 13th & 14th March
The Alde Valley Spring Festival - 3rd April - 3rd May 2010
HighTide Festival 30th April - 3rd May 2010
LeeStock Music Festival 1st-2nd May 2010
Bury St Edmunds Fringe Festival 1st-14th May 2010
The East Anglian Dragon Boat Festival - 9th May
25th Bury St Edmunds Festival 2010 14-30th May
Weird and Wonderful Wood - 15th & 16th May 2010
South and Heart of Suffolk Walking Festival 2010 - 15th May–6th June
The Ipswich Food and Drink Festival - 22nd - 23rd May 2010
Pulse Fringe Festival 27th May – 12th June 2010
Felixstowe Drama Festival 29th May – 5th June 2010
Suffolk Folk Festival - 4th - 6th June 2010
Woolpit Festival 2010 - 8th - 20th June 2010
Open Air Concerts at High Lodge Forest Centre - June & July 2010
Alive and V-Dubbin 2010 - 11th -13th June
Aldeburgh Festival - 11th - 27th June 2010
The Debenham Arts Festival 2010 - 18th – 27th June
Framlingham Arts Festival - 25 June to 4 July
The Ip-Art Festival 26 June – 11 July 2010
The 14th Stowmarket Festival of Beer and Brewing 1st-4th July
Maverick Festival - 2nd, 3rd & 4th July 2010
Debenham Country Music Festival - 14th-19th July 2010
Latitude 2010 15th-18th July
Hachfest 2010 - Friday 30th July - Sunday 1st August
Westleton Wild Flower Festival and Village Life Exhibition - Friday 30th July - Monday 2nd August
Lowestoft Seafront Air Festival 2010 - Thursday August 12th and Friday August 13th
Halesworth Gig in the Park 6-8th August 2010
Yoxford Arts Festival - August 19th-22nd
Southwold Comedy Festival 27th-29th August
Suffolk Villages Festival 27th-30th August
Harvest at Jimmy's Farm - 11th-12th September 2010
Fressingfield Music Festival - 21-25 September 2010
The 5th Hundon Plough Beer Festival - 23rd to 26th September
Aldeburgh Food and Drink Festival - 25th-26th September 2010
Aldeburgh Food and Drink Fringe Festival - 25th September - 9th October 2010
Halesworth Arts Festival - 9th-24th October 2010
22nd Aldeburgh Poetry Festival - 5th-7th November 2010
Check out the wonderful Suffolk Villages Festival Winter Series by clicking on the following links - -
Music Concerts in Suffolk - February
Music Concerts in Suffolk - March
Music Concerts in Suffolk - May
All Events in The Jubilee Hall, Aldeburgh
Friday 5th March
Event 1: 10.00am - Kate Charlton Jones (Yates)
Event 2: 3.30pm - Richard Mabey
Event 3: 5.00pm - Anthea Bell on Stefan Zweig
Event 4: 6.30pm - Sandi Toksvig
Saturday 6th March
Event 5: 10.00am - Gillian Tett: Fool’s Gold
Event 6: 11.30am - Henry Hitchings
Event 7: 2.30pm - Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst
Event 8: 4.00pm - Francis Wheen & Tristram Hunt
Event 9: 5.30pm - Tariq Ali
Sunday 7th March
Event 10: 9.30am - Jenny Uglow: Charles II
Event 11: 11.00am - Karen Armstrong
Event 12: 12.30pm - Sam Kiley and Frank Gardner
Event 13: 2.30pm - Francis Wheen
Event 14: 4.00pm - Taboo-Be-Do: Songs … with Terence Blacker
Bookings can only be made by post or by retuning your form to The Aldeburgh Bookshop.
Please address all correspondence to: The 9th Aldeburgh Literary Festival, 42 High Street, Aldeburgh, Suffolk, IP15 5AB. Any enquiries to 01728 452587.
As part of National Science Week, Jimmy's Farm, Ipswich are holding a fantastic Science Festival on 13th & 14th March at the farm to get you excited about science in food, farming and animals!
The Science Festival will feature:
* Stage Presentations and Workshops
* Science Activities
* Science Exhibitors
* Live Music
* Animal Petting and Feeding
* Lamb Bottle Feeding
* Delicious Hot and Cold Food
* Roast Pork Stand and Bar
To celebrate National Science Week and the farms education programme, all children can come to the event for FREE!!!
Adults tickets are £5 in advance (online) and £6 on the gate.
A four week celebration of food, farming, landscape & the arts at White House Farm, Great Glemham, Saxmundham, Suffolk, IP17 1LS
The Alde Valley Spring Festival celebrates food, farming, landscape and the arts - some of the things that make East Suffolk so beautiful and special to explore. It is based at White House Farm in the Upper Alde Valley, next to Great Glemham, and runs for 4 weeks, with a Festival Exhibition, Woodland Nature Walk, Hedgerow Walk and Alde Valley Food Adventure menus at partner venues in the valley. The Festival also celebrates the remarkable food scene in the Alde Valley - one of the few river valleys in England that is still superstore-free, from source to sea. The Alde Valley Spring Festival is supported by Creating the Greenest County Partnership, East Feast, Suffolk Wildlife Trust and Natural England's Higher Level Stewardship Scheme, IT is twinned with Pesta Nukenen Bario - The Bario & Kelabit Highlands Food & Cultural Festival in central Borneo.
The Festival Exhibition ~ open Tues ~ Sun 10am ~ 6pm at White House Farm
New work by Stuart Anderson, Marchela Dimitrova, Meriel Ensom, Jason Gathorne-Hardy, Kate Giles, Maggi Hambling, Mercury Hare, Raymond Hopkins, Robina Jack, Tory Lawrence, Ffiona Lewis, Tessa Newcomb, Jim Parsons, Dylan Pym & Sam Taplin.
Also woodland craft products, bird boxes, sheepskins, walking sticks and Simply Snape Jacob Sheep blankets. New icons by Artist in Residence Marchela Dimitrova. Bring a picnic. There are good local foods at farm café T 01728 747 717, Friday Street Farm Shop T 01728 602 783, Lawsons Delicatessen T 01728 454 052, Garnetts in Hacheston and many local pubs in the Valley.
Festival Mardles ~ Thursday evenings 6.30 for 7pm until 9.30pm at White House Farm
‘Mardle’ is Suffolk for talk or chat. The Festival Mardles are new for 2010. Entrance is £10 pp including refreshment upon arrival and light supper or ‘snaps’ after the talk. BYO wine. All tickets must be pre-booked. Max 30 guests. For bookings please call T 01728 663 531 or E riveralde@btinternet.com.
Mardle 1 : Suffolk Ball Back Chairs ~ 8th April. ‘Ball Back’ chairs, typically made from elm wood, represent a distinct style within the East Anglian chair making tradition. The talk explores the history of ball back chairs, the range of designs and possible reasons for the use of elm and absence of makers marks.
Mardle 2 : The Early Saints of Suffolk ~ 15th April. The talk will look at the arrival of Christianity in Suffolk in the Anglo Saxon period, with evangelists coming from the West coast of Ireland, France and Constantinople. This period of early conversion provided foundations for many of Suffolk’ parish churches.
Mardle 3 : David Gentleman - Blaxhall, George Ewart Evans & the new Edition of “Ask the Fellows who Cut the Hay” ~ 22nd April. David Gentleman spent many weeks during the summer of 2009 drawing and painting in and around Blaxhall. More than 60 pen-and-ink drawings and watercolours from this extraordinary output were included in the new collector's edition of “Ask the Fellows Who Cut the Hay” by Full Circle Editions. David Gentleman will discuss his experiences last summer and his memories of George Ewart Evans, his father-in-law, who was born in April 1909.
Mardle 4 : Pesta Nukenen Bario ~ 29th April. This last talk focuses on the links between White House Farm and The Alde Valley Food Adventures’ sister festival Pesta Nukenen Bario, otherwise known as ‘The Bario & Kelabit Highlands Food & Cultural Festival’ - a pioneering community owned festival located in the Heart of Borneo area of Sarawak, East Malaysia.
Festival Walks ~ Rendezvous 11am on Saturday Mornings at White House Farm
The two Festival Walks will last approximately 1½ hours and both start from White House Farm. Please bring warm outdoor clothing and comfortable footwear. Families welcome, but no dogs please. £15 pp; children under 16 £8 ; under 5’s free]. The price includes refreshments upon arrival and a light lunch after the walk. BYO wine. All tickets must be pre-booked. Max 20 guests. For bookings please call T 01728 663 531 or E riveralde@btinternet.com.
Walk 1 : Wild Food Walk ~ Saturday 10th. A guided introduction to foraging for seasonal wild foods in hedgerows and public access woodland in Suffolk. The walk will include guidance on identification, safety, foraging practices and recipes.
Walk 2 : Woodland Walk ~ Saturday 17th April. The guided walk will take you through a range of woodland habitats with introductions to tree identification, woodland crafts, lore and timber identification in the barns. There will also be demonstrations of chairmaking and wood carving from 2pm after lunch.
Festival Knowledge Fair ~ 10 am – 3 pm Friday 23rd April at White House Farm
In association with Creating the Greenest County Partnership, East Feast and Natural England’s Higher Level Stewardship Scheme. Workshop + seminar + discussion exploring themes of contributive economics, shared learning, farming for wildlife and local foods. Entrance £10 pp ; children under 12 free ; to include refreshments upon arrival and light vegetarian lunch & afternoon farm walk. More details on www.foodadventures.co.uk. Bring outdoor clothes. Max 40 guests. T 01728 663 531 or E riveralde@btinternet.com for more information and all bookings.
Getting to the Festival:
Come by bus [118/119 Suffolk Onboard], bike [inland National Cycle Route], train [Saxmundham/Ipswich/London], foot [footpaths] or car [free parking]. Families welcome. No dogs please.
We look forward to welcoming you to the farm – and wish you very happy Food Adventures in the beautiful Alde Valley of East Suffolk!
For more information please see: www.foodadventures.co.uk
HighTide have curated a provocative and stimulating line-up of ancillary events, including panel debates, talks, and film screenings, inspired by the three key themes addressed in the 2010 HighTide Festival productions: global warming, abuses of power, and freedom of the press.For more information see
For full details please see HighTide Festival 2010
LeeStock is about music. It’s about people. It’s about fun and it’s definitely about remembering. It’s a little bit about football and a lot about bands. Whether you like listening to bands, spending time with your friends, raising money for charity or raising a drink to the legend that is Lee; LeeStock is what you need.
Starting in 2006, LeeStock was born when a bunch of Lee’s friends wanted to put on a tribute gig in the memory of music mad Lee Dunford who had sadly passed away earlier that year. The gig was a rip-roaring success, very well attended as be-fitting someone as popular as Lee.
Performers
Starting Saturday at 2pm:
The Bimmys
Geometrics
Tha London Undarground
Chunky Ate A Bee
Hi-Fi Idols
The Amber Blacks
Tom Sanderson
And Sunday from 2pm:
Dillon Wyte
Jack O’Brien
David Woodcock
Baptist and The Rebels Roots Band
The Rascos
Daniel Broadest
Teddy-James Driscoll
The venue for LeeStock 2010 has now been confirmed as the White Horse, North Street, Sudbury.
Sudbury is easily accesible by car, train and bus. The market town is located between Colchester and Bury St Edmunds with Ipswich just 35 minutes away by car. There is a train station which shuttles towards Marks Tey with connections then to Colchester and London Liverpool Street. Bus services run daily throughout the area with good links with Bury, Colchester, Ipswich, Haverhill, Halstead, Long Melford, Glemsford and most other minor villages in the area.
There is a camp site just outside Sudbury in Great Cornard (which we will hopefully provide you with more details and a link up shortly) as well as many hotels. We’re hoping that with this venue we can make LeeStock 2010 the best yet!
Tickets are available to buy online at www.wegottickets.com
Tickets can also be obtained by e-mailing tickets@leestock.org
or by calling 07790 431127
You will need the ticket for entry on both days so please keep hold of it.
For FULL DETAILS of this great festival, please see www.leestock.org
For more information on Sudbury, please also see -
Guide to Sudbury
Accommodation in Sudbury
Eating Out in Sudbury
Shopping in Sudbury
Fans of live entertainment, be it comedy, music, dance, theatre or street performance are in for a treat when the Bury Fringe Festival 2010 launches on May 1st. With an extensive and varied programme spanning a fortnight of events and shows, hosted by numerous venues throughout the town of Bury St Edmunds, there will be something to involve and appeal to every single member of our community.
For full programme details and to get tickets please see - www.buryfringe.com
For more information on Bury St Edmunds, please see a Guide to Bury St Edmunds
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Make waves at the East Anglian Dragon Boat Festival in 2010!
On Sunday 9th May the East Anglian Dragon Boat Festival returns to Nicholas Everitt Park, Oulton Broad in Lowestoft for what promises to be the best year yet!
The Festival is a not-to-be-missed opportunity for companies, organizations, clubs and groups of friends to test themselves in a totally different way, whilst promoting their organisation to a large local audience and raising money for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) or the charity of their choice. The East Anglian Dragon Boat Festival has to date raised more than £75,000 for EACH and you can help increase that amount.
East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices provides vital support for children and young people in the area with life-threatening illnesses, and they offer help varying from music therapy to bereavement counselling. Not only will your entry help support such a worthwhile charity, it is also a fantastic team building opportunity - what better way to really get to know what makes your colleagues and competitors tick!
In this spectacular dragon boat race crews of up to 11 people will battle it out in a series of fast and furious heats and finals over a 200m course in 30’ dragon boats to raise funds for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices. All potential teams need to worry about is entering and raising as much sponsorship as they can, as all the dragon boats and racing equipment is provided and no previous experience is necessary- just be sure to bring buckets of team spirit and enthusiasm! 2010 is the Chinese year of the tiger, so don’t miss out on this opportunity to show you share the same traits of courage and fierceness!
Dragon boat racing has an ancient Chinese history and the Festival is a re-enactment of a tragic event that took place more than 2,000 years ago in the kingdom of Chu. Legend has it that falsely accused of treason and exiled by jealous rivals in the government, despairing warrior poet, Qu Yuan, threw himself into the Mi Lo River. Local fishermen rowed out to save the drowning poet and tried to rescue him from vicious fish by beating the water with their paddles. But their attempts failed and every year in Hong Kong a Tuen Ng (Dragon Boat) Festival is held as a mark of respect for the fishermen’s frantic efforts and to commemorate the tragic death of Qu Yuan. The dragon boat’s fierce looking dragon’s heads were added later to ward off evil spirits and in Hong Kong special dumplings are eaten to represent the dumplings that were thrown in to the river to stop the fish eating the mighty Qu’s body.
According to the Chinese calendar, 2010 is the Year of the Tiger, symbolising great courage, stealth and fearlessness, coincidentally the perfect attributes for dragon boat team members! No previous experience is required to take part in the East Anglian Dragon Boat Festival, just plenty of team spirit so why not take up the challenge? The dragon boats and all racing equipment are provided and each crew is guaranteed a minimum of three races. The Festival offers a full day of fun on land as well as water with plenty of activities on the bankside to entertain teams and spectators between races.
Carl Brooks, Corporate Fundraiser at East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH), said: “Relying as we do on voluntary public support for the majority of our income of around £5.8 million a year, we are delighted to once again be the official charity for the Dragon Boat Festival. The money raised through the generosity of the teams taking part will go towards the one-to-one nursing care and support that is so vital to life-threatened local children and their families”. The top fundraisers for EACH will win the charity trophy plus a full day of spa, gym use and lunch kindly donated by the Marriott Sprowston Manor in Norwich.
Carol Lester, director of Festival organisers, Gable Events, adds; “The Festival is a great chance for companies and organisations to try something completely different, promote themselves to a large local audience, network with local companies and potential clients and raise money for EACH. It is also a fantastic team building opportunity - what better way to get to know what makes your colleagues and competitors tick! We expect the Festival to be as popular as ever this time around so we recommend teams get their entries in early to guarantee a place”.
Up to 50 teams from all over East Anglia are expected to take part in this year’s Festival, many of them new and many returning annually to join in the fun. One of the companies taking part for the first time last year was the UK’s largest self catering holiday company, Hoseasons Holidays, which has its head office in Lowestoft. Such was the enthusiasm from the staff for joining in last time around that the team had more crew volunteers than places – it was a case of a paddle off to select the first team!
Teams should encourage their families and friends to come along and support them too, as not only can they offer moral support to the teams they can also take advantage of the bankside activities. These will include Chinese lion dancing, funfair, street entertainers, children’s activities, bar and catering- so there really is something to keep everyone amused for the duration of the Festival.
The Festival is supported by Waveney District Council, BBC Suffolk and The Lowestoft Journal.
Other keen Festival supporters include solicitors, Birketts LLP, who have offices in Norwich and Ipswich. Victoria Cole, Marketing Co-ordinator, comments: “We find taking part in this event great for team building, as well as raising the company profile and getting our name out there. The staff enjoy a great day out, whilst knowing they are making a difference to EACH by their charity fundraising”. With trophies not only for the top three crews but also for the top mixed crew, the best-dressed crew and the crew that raises the most money for EACH, there really is something for every team to aim for!
There will also be plenty of activities on the bankside to entertain teams and spectators between races including Chinese lion dancing, funfair, street entertainers, children's activities, bar and catering.
For further information and to make sure you are on the starting line on 9th May please call Gable Events today to request an entry form on 01780 470718.
World War II Dakota set to wow the crowds at the East Anglian Dragon Boat Festival!
Visitors to the Festival will be scanning the skies, as organisers, Gable Events, have secured a spectacular flypast by a World War II Royal Air Force Dakota of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain and what better way to commemorate it than to have one of its Memorial Flight planes grace the skies above Nicholas Everitt Park on a day that already promises to be jam-packed with the thrills and spills of Chinese dragon boat racing.
The flypast at the East Anglian Dragon Boat Festival at lunchtime on Sunday 9th May will provide a chance for the crowds to witness the majesty of the Dakota as it soars above the racing dragon boats and it will not be the only attraction! Spectators and competitors alike will be able to take full advantage of the wide variety of entertainment on offer – from fairground rides to fun inflatables and Chinese lion dancing to the performances of the local Venue of Performing Arts – there will be something for everyone!
There is still plenty of time to get a team together and join in the racing and there isn’t a better team building event in the region as hundreds of companies and organisations from across the region have already discovered. Teams of up to 11 people are invited to battle it out in the 30’ Chinese dragon boats with no previous experience necessary. The dragon boats and all equipment are provided, each team is guaranteed a minimum of three races and the top fundraisers for nominated charity, East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices, will win a superb celebratory meal and use of the gym and spa at the Marriott Sprowston Manor.
As Victoria Cole, Marketing Co-ordinator of local solicitors Birketts LLP, comments; “The Dragon Boat Festival is a great day for staff motivation and team building, whilst also giving us the opportunity to get the Birketts name out there. We enjoy the friendly rivalry between the teams and the family atmosphere plus the opportunity to network in such a fun way! The staff all have such a great time at the Festival, new professional relationships are formed and the chance to raise money for such a great charity really inspires the team members”.
So why not show you have the bulldog spirit of the Battle of Britain and challenge your colleagues and competitors by entering a team into the Dragon Boat Festival today from your company, club or group of friends!
For more information please contact Gable Events on 01780 470718
Bury St Edmunds Festival 2010 runs from Friday 14 May to Sunday 30 May, and celebrates 25 years of bringing the finest performers and freshest ideas to the historic market town at the heart of the Suffolk countryside.
The 17-day Festival is one of the best-loved cultural events in East Anglia offering an exciting mix of contemporary and classical music, outdoor concerts, jazz, folk, opera, dance, film, poetry, comedy, walks, street theatre and much more.
A party night will signal the start of this year’s Festival, with a Queen and Madness Tribute Night to set the ball rolling. The popular outdoor gigs in the Abbey Gardens are spread over two Fridays to give revellers a great start to Festival weekends. The traditional Beating Retreat sunset ceremony moves to close the Festival and the town’s first Food and Drink Festival celebrating the best of local produce will be hosted by Bury St Edmunds-based brewers Greene King.
This year will also see the formation of a Festival jazz orchestra, plus adult and youth choirs to perform world music with South African band Mbawula, while local musicians can showcase their talents by busking around the town.
The Festival brochure will be launched among Festival Friends at the Angel Hotel, Bury St Edmunds on Monday 15 February and can then be viewed as an e-magazine on the Festival website at www.buryfestival.co.uk. You can now also keep up to speed with all the latest news and behind the scenes action by following the Festival on Facebook and Twitter.
Tickets are now on sale for the 2010 Bury St Edmunds Festival and are already selling quickly so call the box office on 01284 769505 or visit the Festival website at www.buryfestival.co.uk to make sure you can get the tickets you want.
Festival highlights include:
Gala Cathedral concerts: the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra with soloist Chloe Hanslip performing the Philip Glass’ Violin Concerto (16 May), and the Armonico Consort celebrating the 400th anniversary of Monteverdi’s Vespers (25 May) and Britain’s favourite soprano Lesley Garrett (18 May).
Acclaimed performers: TV favourite Adrian Edmondson and The Bad Shepherds punk/folk band (25 May), pub comedian Al Murray (15 May), poet John Hegley (26 May), Leeds Piano Competition’s first female winner Sofya Gulak (27 May) and jazz singer Clare Teal (29 May).
New works and fusions: a world premiere of music for piano and strings by Nathan Williamson at the Festival Eucharist (16 May), Dante Quartet and Kings College Choir premiere new work by Roxana Panufnik (24 May), while cellist Natalie Clein and Simon Fisher Turner on electronics find musical ‘Resonances’ at historic Ickworth House performing Bach suites and new works by Fyfe Dangerfield of The Guillemots (28 May).
Great outdoor events: a Queen and Madness Tribute night gets the Festival party started (14 May), the return of The Dubliners guarantees a good craic (21 May) and Bury World brings a chance for local people to perform alongside Mbawula (22 May) in the Abbey Gardens. The Festival ends with the Beating Retreat on Angel Hill (30 May).
Festival firsts: Greene King brewery hosts a new Real Food & Beer Festival featuring the best local produce (15 & 16 May), Sonnet Walks bring the bard’s poems to life in the streets of Bury (15 May) and there’s time to pick up a few dance moves before Monica Vasconcelos’ Vintage Brazil Samba Night (27 May).
For more information on the town, please see a Guide to Bury St Edmunds
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Weird and Wonderful Wood on 15th & 16th May 2010 promises to be a fun-packed event for the whole family! Please click on the for full details.
Taking place between Saturday 15th May and Sunday 6th June, the annual South and Heart of Suffolk Walking Festival will feature around 30 guided walks in a variety of locations to suit different tastes and fitness levels. A different kind of walking festival, it will feature some outings accompanied by a poet and storyteller plus photographic and twilight nature walks.
The region, with its softly undulating landscapes, pretty villages and magnificent cultural heritage, is the perfect place to relax and enjoy the fresh air while exploring its countryside on foot.
Walks range from gentle 2-3 mile country rambles and medieval meanders through ancient villages and towns to longer and more energetic outings of up to 12 miles through Suffolk’s beautiful countryside. Many include lunch and afternoon tea stops with a chance to sample some fresh local produce, while for others walkers are asked to bring their own picnic.
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Special interest outings include Wildlife Discovery on 15th May, a circular walk taking in the habitats at Grove Farm, near Thurston where conservation and farming can be seen working side by side, and an early morning walk on 22nd May around Arger Fen to watch and hear the dawn wildlife and celebrate the 40th anniversary of the designation of the Dedham Vale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. This ends with breakfast at the idyllic Assington Mill.
Walkers will be joined by poet and performer Dean Park on four of the routes who will recite poems and stories along the way; there will also be a photographic walk on 22nd May starting out from the Beyond the Image Gallery at Thornham Magna when everyone is encouraged to bring a camera, and a chance to visit the sites associated with the famous murder of Maria Marten in the Red Barn at Polstead on 23rd May.
There are also several walks with activities to attract a younger audience such as Mister Stevenson’s Light Railway on Bank holiday Monday, 31st May, which follows the route of the ‘Middy’ to discover how to interpret landscape clues, and the Scavenger Hunt at Thornham Walks – a gentle afternoon stroll through the woods hunting for a given list of items.
The South and Heart of Suffolk Walking Festival is organised by Mid Suffolk and Babergh District Councils and sponsored by the Discover Suffolk Project, which aims to encourage local residents and visitors to get out and about in the scenic Suffolk countryside.
Pre-booking is essential for all walks by calling the Tourist Information Centre at either Lavenham on 01787 248207 or Mid Suffolk on 01449 676800; they would also be able to advise on places to stay. Many of the walks are free while for others the prices range from £2 up to £20 per person (latter includes lunch); dogs are allowed on some walks but must be kept on a lead at all times. For further information or to download a copy of the Walking Festival programme, visit website www.southandheartofsuffolk.org.uk.
at Christ Church Park, Ipswich
(Park Road or Westerfield Road entrances)
Starts 10.30am finishes 4.30pm
A glorious event in the wonderful Christchurch Park in the centre of thriving Ipswich. The Festival has a celebrity chef kitchen, lots of food and drink stalls. Come and try loads of wonderful food and drink. Have lunch or tea and cake. Wander about this beautiful park. Listen to the band playing. Potter around the stalls tasting some of their delicious wares.
All in marquees in the park – come rain or shine you will have a great time!
For full details please see www.colchesterfoodanddrinkfestival.co.uk
Guide to Ipswich
Ipswich Attractions
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Accommodation in and around Ipswich
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Just a short train ride from London, PULSE ’10 fills the theatres, galleries, offices and caravans of Ipswich with a three week long explosive celebration of the most vibrant, bold and brilliant theatre from across the UK.
For further details on this year's Pulse Festival please see Pulse Fringe Festival
For more local information please see:
Guide to Ipswich
Ipswich Attractions
A Guide to Ipswich Hotels
Accommodation in and around Ipswich
Eating out in Ipswich
Pubs in Ipswich
The 2010 Festival will be held as usual over the May Bank Holiday week at the Spa Pavilion Theatre on Felixstowe's picturesque seafront. Performances will begin each evening at 7.30pm. but please note that there will be NO PERFORMANCE on Tuesday night or Wednesday night.
LINE-UP OF PLAYS:
Saturday 29th May - Art (comedy) by Yasmina Reza, Tryst Theatre
Cast:
MARC - Alan Clark
SERGE - Brian Paterson
YVAN - Craig Murray
Director - Alan Clark
Three actors. One painting. One big argument brewing! One hell of a comedy!
“The three guys play someplace between the elegance of The Three Tenors and the slapstick of The Three Stooges.”
"If you haven't seen it yet, I envy you the discovery. And if you have seen it before...I envy you the re-discovery!"
Serge has bought a modern abstract painting for a huge sum of money. Marc is disgusted and cannot believe that a friend of his could possibly want such a ghastly work. Yvan attempts, unsuccessfully, to placate both sides while struggling with the plans for his wedding.
Playing somewhere between Moliere and Woody Allen, the comedy is less about art and more about friendship tested to its absolute limit.
Sunday 30th May - Under Milk Wood (play) by Dylan Thomas, Rushmere Players
Monday 31st May - Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, Deben Players
Thursday 3rd June - Happy Jack by John Godber, Cardiff Players
Friday 4th June - The Importance of being Earnest (comedy) by Oscar Wilde, Parkside Players
Saturday 5th June - Like a Virgin (play) by Gordon Steel, In Yer Space
CAST
Angela Amy Cartridge
Maxine Gwyneth Owen-Pullin
Viv Katie Leahy
Ken Ben Hynes
Monkey Ollie Pilkington
The play is set in the 1990s in Manchester in a variety of locations ranging from Angela's bedroom, front room to a club.
There will be one interval of fifteen minutes.
Director Colin Snell
Sound Tom Killoran
Lighting Andrew Gray
Choreography Gwyneth Owen-Pullin
Photography Christopher Holmes Photography, Kendal
This powerful play with music is a romp through the bubble-gum years of teenage life. Angela and Maxine, both sixteen, attack life with laughter and excitement. Besotted with Madonna they truant from school, form a band, attempt to write songs - and live out their adolescent dreams of becoming famous. Meanwhile Angela's mother Viv is distraught after her husband leaves her for another woman. She struggles to come to terms with herself and her daughter. A volatile but loving relationship develops as the two grow to appreciate each other's different needs: hope, sex, ambition, despair and most of all love.
The Adjudicator:
In 2010 our Diamond Festival will see Tony Rushforth making a welcome return to Felixstowe.
Tony studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London and acted with the Harrogate Repertory Company and also directed productions at the Bradford Playhouse, the Ashcroft Theatre in Croydon and at the Edinburgh Festival.
For twenty years he was Head of the Drama Department at St. Mary's University College in Strawberry Hill. He spent six months as Visiting Fellow in Performing Arts at Melbourne University and adjudicated the Sydney Theatre Festival before returning to act in the film The Opium Wars. For six years Tony was the Artistic Director of The Questors International Theatre Festival in Ealing which enabled him to to travel and see the work of many European companies.
More recently he has been busy directing and also teaching Theatre Workshops in the UK and in Europe and for the Drama League of Ireland where his travels have taken him to Dublin, Cork, Galway and two Summer Schools at Maynooth University. Tony writes for the theatre and his plays include The Kerry Dance, Close-Up, Charade and Seascape. For six years he was a judge for the NDFA New Play Award.
Tony Rushforth is a Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music, a member of The Writers Guild, The Society for Theatre Research and The Guild of Drama Adjudicators. He also has an MA in Modern Drama. He has adjudicated the Irish, Scottish, English and Welsh One Act Finals. In 2004 and 2007 he adjudicated the All Ireland Finals in Athlone and Wexford and last year was at the One Act International Festival in Brussels.
Tony is delighted to be paying a return visit to the prestigious Felixstowe Festival.
Further information about the Felixstowe Drama Festival can be found by visiting the website www.showlitesoundandlight.co.uk/festival.
Tickets:
Spa Pavilion TheatreTickets can be booked in any of the following ways:
•at the Box Office 10am - 5pm Monday to Saturday
•by telephone on 01394 282126 during the Box Office opening hours
•using the Ticketmaster 24hr. hotline on 0844 847 2372
•on line at ticketmaster.co.uk
Tickets should be on general sale from 30th March 2010. For current ticket prices please contact the Box Office.
Booking Charges:
When booking directly with the Felixstowe Box Office there is a charge of £1.50 per transaction if you use a credit card. There is no charge if you use a debit card. For any transaction there will be an additional charge of £1.00 if you wish your tickets to be posted to you.
When booking through Ticketmaster, using either the 24hr. phone number or on-line, there will be a per ticket service and booking charge.
For more information on this lovely town, please see Guide to Felixstowe
Accommodation in Felixstowe
Eating Out in Felixstowe
Activities in Felixstowe
Suffolk Folk Festival line up announced.
Julie Felix is headlining the opening concert of the 6th Suffolk Folk Festival which takes place in Woodbridge on the weekend of 4 – 6 June. Julie will be remembered by many from her regular spot on The Frost Report and in her own TV series from the 1960s and 70s. She is still recording, touring and performing with the same passion and humour that have always been her trademarks. Julie will be supported at this concert at the Seckford Theatre by Rachel and Lillias and Paul & Liz Davenport.
The Grand Ceilidh on the Saturday evening at the Abbey School features the music of The Great White Steamchicken with Ian Wilson from Peeping Tom as the dance caller.
The free open air concert in Elmshurst Park on Sunday afternoon features displays of belly dancing by Naia and Lilith Dreaming and morris with Green Dragon as well as performances by four local bands – The Larks, The Bounty Hounds, Flaming June and Pagan Molly.
New events this year include a music and craft fair in the Salvation Army Hall, free concerts in Woodbridge Library on Saturday and Sunday, folk music concerts with many of the festival’s artists plus Stealing Sheep, Crownstreet and Shadows in the Shade, and belly dancing workshops with Naia.
And on the Saturday afternoon there is a rare chance to see Steamchicken perform in concert as OSJB – the Original Steamchicken Jazz Band – who will perform dance tunes and songs from both folk and jazz genres and trace the evolution of traditional themes into jazz, blues and popular music in the late 19th century.
The Festival is also one of the largest summer gatherings of morris and sword dancers in the East of England as hundreds of dancers and musicians brighten up the streets of Woodbridge.
Tickets for the workshops, concerts and ceilidh are on sale now, with prices from £2 to £10 or an All Day Saturday ticket for just £12 and a Weekend Ticket for £22. Ticket details and booking forms are available from the website at www.onesuffolk.co.uk/SuffolkFolkFestival.
The Festival relies on the generosity of folk over the weekend and, with more than 20 hours of free events, it must be worth the price of a pint.
For further information on the town, please see Guide to Woodbridge
Accommodation in Woodbridge
Eating Out in Woodbridge
For full details of this year's festival please see Woolpit Festival
Woolpit is a lovely village situated just off the the A14 between Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket. For more information on nearby towns, attractions and accommodation, please see:
Guide to Bury St Edmunds
Accommodation in Bury St Edmunds.
Eating Out in Bury St Edmunds
Activities in Bury St Edmunds
Attractions in Stowmarket
Shopping in Stowmarket
The Open Air Concerts at High Lodge Forest Centre in Thetford
Forest Park, in association with The Forestry Commission, have a fantastic line-up of concerts this year featuring Keane on 10th June, Simply Red on 11th June, and Doves on 12th June. New concerts announced for July include The Saturdays on 9th July and Katie Melua on 10th July.
Please see Music in Suffolk - June and Music in Suffolk - July for full details and booking information.
It's more than just a music festival!
Tickets for Latitude 2010 went on sale on Tuesday 9th March.
LATITUDE is probably Britain's most successful new Arts and Music Festival, and it returns for an incredible 5th Edition on 15-18th July 2010, set in the beautiful countryside of Henham Park Estate on Suffolk’s Sunrise Coast.
Latitude continues to lead the way as a bold and pioneering festival cherry-picking the very best from the worlds of music, theatre, comedy, literature, film, poetry, dance, art, fashion and cabaret and bringing them together for one glorious weekend.
Latitude's Top 5...highlights
In honour of our 5th Edition, we thought we'd share our favourite memories from previous years. Each week we'll bring you Latitude's Top 5 things.
If you'd like to send in your own experiences, email info@latitudefestival.co.uk and we'll publish them online.
~ *~ Thom Yorke's blissed out Sunday slot last year. How beautiful was listening to 'Reckoner' in the glorious sunshine!
~ *~ Britten Sinfonia was the first full orchestra to appear at an outdoor music festival. Truly magical.
~ *~ Royal Shakespeare Company sent hundreds of zombies spilling off the stage blurring staged theatre with walkabout performances. It had to be seen to be believed!
~ *~ The ethereal Music Of The Spheres floating serenely across the lake, including the suspended flautist within, much to everyone's surprise.
~ *~ The legendary Patti Smith performing two very special performances on not only the main music stage, the Obelisk Arena, but also in the Poetry Arena in our inaugural year.
These are just a few of the many memories Latitude has mustered. Latitude’s extensive line-up is an incredible assortment of riches that can keep you entertained all weekend… a leisurely stroll through the festival’s magical woods and beyond can lead to all manner of untold treasures and unexpected pleasures. There's so much to do and see, you'll just have to come and experience it for yourselves.
For full details of the festival please see Latitude Festival 2010
For accommodation nearby please see:
Accommodation in Southwold
Accommodation in Halesworth
Accommodation in Saxmundham
North Manor Farmhouse B&B
The Angel Inn, Wangford - ALMOST FULLY BOOKED, SO HURRY!!
Alive and VDubbin is Suffolk Biggest VW Show.
The Alive and V Dubbin show is in the heart of the beautiful county of Suffolk, at The Mid Suffolk Showground, Stonham Barns, Stonham, IP14 6AT.
Alive and V-Dubbin was set up and is run by the Suffolk Bug’rs VW Club. The show is run as a not-for-profit show, with all takings and profits made reinvested in future Alive and V-Dubbin shows.
We are very proud of the entertainment we have on offer.
This year it ranges from a load of Great Local Bands, Beer Tent, Climb Spider Mountain, VW Vehicle Displays, Free Skate Ramp and VW Bouncy Castle and not to mention loads of Fun and Activities for the Kids too, and a Show and Shine competition.
We also have an Auto Jumble if you are looking for 2nd hand parts. A great selection of Trade stands and Food Traders to keep you nourished while at the show.
Camping is available for the Friday and Saturday nights with the show closing at 5pm on the Sunday. Camping is a must, whether sleeping in your van or under canvas next to your VDub. We are a family focused club so we appreciate consideration when camp.
Tickets
Advance
Friday Night £10
Saturday Night £10
Both Nights £20
On The Gate
Friday Night £15
Saturday Night £15
Both Nights £15
Day Entry £5
Local Bands playing at Alive and VDubbin include: The Angry Beavers, The Colorblind Hedgehogs, Finger Kuffs, Rockface, Aworld Apart and The Rising. See website for full listings and MySpace profiles of the bands.
Kids Activities
As a family friendly VW club, we have entertaining the kids high up the priorities for our shows. This year is no exception with plenty of events planned to keep Mini VDubbers happy. We have Drumming and In a Spin bothhave children friendly workshops running throughout the weekend. Also Flaming Melons it's cleaner than it sounds its Hoola hoop dancing with FIRE.
We also have, Skate Ramp and Spider Mountain, Box Model VW's (back by popular demand), A Recycled Mural (A Crazy Mural made from recycled paper, fabric etc with everyone adding a bit) Making Badges and Fridge Magnets (because everyone need a VDubbin badge), Scavenger Hunt (to run off a bit of excess energy) , Large Camper Van Chalk Board (A Giant Camper Van)
Please visit http://www.aliveandvdubbin.co.uk for full details of this great event!
Come and visit Nomad Living and their fleet of 1970s VW campers at the Alive & V-Dubbin Festival this year on 12-13 June! Please click on Nomad Living's link for more information.
SIXTY-THIRD ALDEBURGH FESTIVAL OF MUSIC AND THE ARTS
This year's festival promises to be an amazing experience, as ever. Please continue reading to to learn of the festival performance programme, and how to book tickets.
Pierre-Laurent Aimard Artistic Director (pictured above)
John Woolrich Associate Artistic Director
For FULL DETAILS of all performances, and to BOOK YOUR TICKETS, please see Aldeburgh Music.
20% ticket discount
This year’s Aldeburgh Festival offers an exciting choice of musical discoveries –
and we invite you to explore as many of them as possible! Please look out for this: and take advantage of our Magical Discovery Tour. Combine a minimum of 5 events from the offering, and qualify for a 20% discount on ticket prices.
For some background information to this historic music festival please also see Aldeburgh Festival.
For further information on this great town, please see
Guide to Aldeburgh
Accommodation in Aldeburgh
Hotels in Aldeburgh
Attractions in Aldeburgh
Eaing Out in Aldeburgh
Highlights of the Debenham Arts Festival this year will include the traditional Art Exhibition in the Church and the Street Fair as well as a range of arts events appealing to a wide audience.
For more information please see Debenham Arts Festival 2010
For festival accommodation, please see Rose Cottage, Debenham
Friday 25 June to Sunday 4 July
The programme offers a wide range of events including exhibitions, music, talks, theatre and practical workshops.
Exhibitions: The Walking Art Gallery displaying work by students from local schools may be found in shop and office windows throughout the town centre. Framlingham Art Society’s 29th Annual Exhibition and Sale. Open Photographic Exhibition where many of the exhibits are also for sale.
Talks: Dame Margaret Drabble CBE opens the festival with a talk about her latest book “The Pattern in the Carpet. “Hidden Treasures of Framlingham” will take you on a walk round the town exploring secret pieces of history that you wouldn’t see every day. John Sheeran’s illustrated talk “Summer Impressions” promises to be a visual feast exploring his favourite French impressionist paintings.
Film:“The Horseman’s Tale” celebrates the Suffolk Punch which is now rarer than the Giant Panda.
Music: William Saunders gives an hour long concert on the renowned Thamar organ in St Michael’s Church, with a video link giving a close up picture of what is happening in the organ loft. Well known classics make this programme particularly suitable for families with children. The Hurd perform their unique music which ranges from the sweetly tender to the positively raucous on a selection of instruments including hurdy gurdies, recorder, guitar, mandolin, bassoon and soprano sax, making them an emergent voice on the folk scene. Wenhaston Girls Choir’s repertoire includes contemporary pop, classical and religious via folk and world music, musical theatre and original compositions, under the musical direction of Rob Goodrich. “Taboo-Be-Do!” delves into the shadier corners of jazz, bluegrass, blues, cabaret and pop, offering a heerful celebration of the outrageous, the ill considered and the downright inappropriate; an eye opening, foot tapping journey through 100 years of politically incorrect music with the guitar duo “Something Happened”. Phoenix Singers perform Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle with soloists Stephanie Corley (Soprano), Sarah-Jane Lewis (Alto), Peter Kirk (Tenor) and John Llewelyn Evans (Bass), accompanied by Chistine Whiffen (Harmonium) and John Stafford (Piano). Conducted by Edmond Fivet. The Sole Bay Jazz Band perform in the Rectory Garden at lunchtime on 4 July, so bring a picnic lunch and enjoy great jazz in a beautiful garden adjoining the Mere.
Practical Workshops: Pen and Ink Drawing Workshop, Button Necklace Workshop and an ArtWorkshop. “Fram Sings!” invites everyone to come and create a wonderful sound at an easy singing session led by Helen Rolfe – no experience necessary, all ages and abilities welcome.
Theatre: Circle 67 Players’ Shorter Shakespeare version of “Othello” in the lovely garden of Moat House.
Headline Event: Hatstand Opera’s “A Laugh at the Opera” – a rib-tickling romp through everyone’s comic opera favourites, featuring hilarious hairdressers, subversive servants, duplicate lovers and amorous aristocracy. Opera has never been so much fun!
“Tea on the Lawn” at the Rectory and “Open Gardens” organised by Friends of St Michael’s, Punch & Judy at Framlingham Library and a visit by the East Suffolk Morris Men complete the line up.
Full details and downloadable booking form at www.artsframlingham.org.uk or call 01728 723028 for further information.
Please click here for a list of all Services in Framlingham
For full details of this great festival please see Ip-Art Festival
Please also see:
Guide to Ipswich
Ipswich Attractions
A Guide to Ipswich Hotels
Accommodation in and around Ipswich
Eating out in Ipswich
Pubs in Ipswich
The Museum of East Anglian Life, in association with CAMRA – the Campaign for Real Ale – kicks off its 14th Beer Festival on Thursday 1st July.
The event is perhaps the Museums most celebrated annual event.
Visitors will have the chance to sample up to 60 East Anglian real ales and a number of ciders, plus be entertained by LIVE MUSIC!
Please click on the Museum of East Anglian Life's link above for full details, including times, list of acts performing and tickets.
For more local information please see:
Attractions in Stowmarket
Shopping in Stowmarket
RETURN OF THE MAVERICK FESTIVAL TO EASTON FARM PARK WEEKEND OF JULY 4th!
Just featured in the Telegraph and the Guardian as one of the great small festivals in England!
The Maverick Festival, a celebration of American Roots music, at Easton Farm Park for the July 2, 3 and 4th weekend. Fantastic music, great local food, real ale and the idyllic setting of the Farm Park make for a ”boutique” Festival experience, without big crowds, hassle, and expense.
Easton Farm Park’s historic Victorian farm buildings provide unique settings for four stages, featuring American roots music in its myriad forms. Guitars, fiddles, banjos and harmonies, goats, chickens and ponies… it’s country life at it’s best.
The event runs over three days, commencing on Friday night, continues on Saturday with a full programme of musical performances, film & workshops across four stages indoors and out, and finishes on Sunday with a traditional Gospel brunch.
Full details available on the website: www.maverickfestival.co.uk
For further information on Woodbridge, please see Guide to Woodbridge
Accommodation in Woodbridge
Eating Out in Woodbridge
THE 22ND DEBENHAM COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL
JULY 14th TO JULY 19th 2010
HELD AT THE DEBENHAM LEISURE CENTRE, DEBENHAM, SUFFOLK, IP14 6BL
ALL PROCEEDS TO THE DEBENHAM LEISURE CENTRE CHARITY TRUST
DONT MISS OUT ON THIS SUPER FESTIVAL BOOK NOW AND AVOID DISAPOINIMENT
Thursday night 7.30pm dance with the fabulous award winning Welsh duo
COUNTRY COMPANY
Friday night 7.30pm dance to the great CLEAR CUT
Saturday afternoon from 12 noon with three great acts BONNIE DIAMOND & COE, PAT JAMES, AMERICAN ROUTS
Saturday night, 7.30pm a super night with two of England's top acts
Norfolk's award winning JEFF GALANT BAND & Kent's singing sensation ROSIE HORNE
Sunday afternoon from 12 noon with three more great acts NASHVILLE NUMBERS BAND and from Buckinghamshire RANCHER COUNTRY DUO
and Suffolk's very own master of country MR KEVIN BARRY
And at 7.30pm to finish off a fabulous weekend the Award winning
DOUBLE BARREL
A GREAT LINE UP. ADD THAT TO TWO DANCE FLOORS, SHOWERS
MAINS TOILETS, TRADE STALLS, FOOD, AND A GREAT ATMOSPHERE,
CREDIT CRUNCHING PRICES FOR THIS 5 DAY EVENT
FESTWAL FULL WEEKEND TICKET IS JUST £26
DAY PRICES ARE THURSDAY, FRIDAY & SUNDAY NIGHTS £4 EACH
SATURDAY & SUNDAY AFTERNOONS £6 EACH & SATURDAY NIGHT £7
OPEN AIR CONCERTS SATURDAY & SUNDAY AFTERNOONS WEATHER PERMITTING
MORE INFORMATION or Booking Form RING:- ED CUFFE ON 01473 405 672 or email: e.cuffe@hotmail.co.uk
"Only the best in country music"
YOU ARE WELCOME TO COME JUST FOR THE DAY!
For festival accommodation, please see Rose Cottage, Debenham
Showcasing local musicians and raising money for local charities. Activities for all the family.
3-day music festival at Mutimers' Meadow, Hacheston, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP13 0DR.
Hachfest 2010 is nearly here!
This year’s 3 day music festival is almost upon us – kicking off on 30th July to 1st August, at Mutimers' Meadow in the village of Hacheston, near Wickham Market (IP13 0DR). Gates open on Friday evening at 5:30pm and the event continues all day on Saturday and Sunday, providing a great weekend of entertainment for all the family.
One of the highlights planned for the 2010 event is the BBC Introducing sessions. The team from BBC Radio Suffolk will be taking over the Hachfest stages on the Saturday afternoon, and have been given free reign to showcase the best acts from the BBC Introducing selection! BBC Introducing supports unsigned, undiscovered and under the radar musicians. Some of the acts appearing include Umbrella Assassins, JG Harding, Voodoo Browne and The Great Shakes.
Headline acts confirmed for 2010 include 80’s ska sensation - The Beat; Brigade – a rock band tipped for the top by both NME and Kerrang; art-rock musicians – Audioporn; Radio 1 favourite - Gideon Conn and Buddy Holly tribute show - Rave On. Alongside these names there will also be some fantastic local artists to suit everyone’s taste, including Whiskey Chaser, Matt While and The Emulsions, Walkway, Brewer Street Kazoo Band, Crumbs For Comfort and Popes of Chillitown.
As well as the music, there will be plenty to do off-stage for all the family, including various activities & many stalls. Food & refreshments are provided on site all weekend.
Tickets are now on sale from local outlets, including Ipswich Tourist Information centre & Teapot Tearoom in Wickham Market, as well as online at www.hachfest.co.uk. Check out the website or the posters for more information.
Each year money raised across the Hachfest weekend is donated to charity. The main charities to benefit from Hachfest 2010 will be East Anglian Air Ambulance, St Elizabeth Hospice, Childhood Eye Cancer Trust and Help For Heroes.
Hachfest could not happen without the support and help of local volunteers, so if you’d like to get involved please visit www.hachfest.co.uk or contact faye@hachfest.co.uk.
Over £6000 from Hachfest 2009 presented to local charities.
ACTS
The Beat
Hachfest are pleased to be welcoming one of the UK’s most popular and influential Ska Bands ‘The Beat’, who will be headlining the 2010 Saturday Line-up.
The Beat became an overnight success in the 80’s scoring such hits as ‘Tears of a Clown, Mirror in the Bathroom, Hands off she’s Mine, Too nice to talk to, Save it for Later and a soulful cover of the Andy Williams song ‘Can’t Get Used to Losing You’!
The band toured the world with artistes such as David Bowie, The Police, REM, The Clash and The Specials.
The current band line up includes original members Ranking Roger and Everett Morton, plus ex. Dexys Midnight Runners and General Public Keyboard player Mickey Billingham and also features Roger’s Son Murphy ‘Ranking’ Jr.
Gideon Conn
This exciting young Mancunian musician may well be familiar to anyone that went along to ‘Harvest at Jimmy’s’ last year – he certainly struck a chord with Hachfest committee members, who are very pleased that he has agreed to appear at Hachfest this year!
Gideon Conn’s shows are breath-taking from start to finish. With a cheeky smile he makes the audience jump for joy, sigh with delight then leave asking what they have just seen and when can I hear it again? He has performed, with his band, at major festivals and toured with some fantastic artists including Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip, 6 Day Riot and Jason Mraz. He released a catchy, hip hop/indie crossover single called ‘I Want You Around’ which was well received by radio - playlisted on Xfm and awarded breakfast single of the week on BBC 6 music as well being championed by Huw Stevens and Rob da Bank on Radio 1. Gideon’s debut album entitled ‘New Bop Sounds’, is due for release in March 2010. The first single from the album is called ‘Londonderry’, and was released in December 2009. It is a beautiful song, memorable for its unabashed simplicity and ability to capture your heart and mind.
You can catch Gideon as part of the Hachfest Saturday line-up!
Audioporn
London based Audioporn are no strangers to these parts – boasting a strong and loyal following in Suffolk for their ‘Art Rock’ style of music.
If you’ve not seen this band before then you’re in for a real treat! They were once described in the press as ‘a cross between Frank Zappa and the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band’! Extremely unusual and totally original – guaranteed to entertain!
Thank you once again for the continued support, it is hoped that 2010 will be the best year yet!
Keep an eye on www.hachfest.co.uk for full details of the event.
WESTLETON WILD FLOWER FESTIVAL AND VILLAGE LIFE EXHIBITION
Friday July 30th to Monday August 2nd, 10 am to 6pm each day (5 pm Monday)
Westleton Village and its Church work together every year to hold its long running and celebrated Wildflower Festival in St Peters Church Westleton combined with the Village Life Exhibition in Westleton Village Hall. This year the events will be held from Friday July 30th to Monday August 2nd, open from 10 am to 6 pm on Friday to Sunday and 10 am to 5pm on Monday, and admission is free.
The theme of this year’s wildflower festival is ‘The Power of Nature’ featuring a floral display of local wildflowers depicting a range of natural events from the drama of ‘Earthquake’ to the tranquillity of ‘Sunset’.
This year’s exhibition in the Village Hall features seventeen local groups and bodies that all interact with village life, and these include, as examples, the Art Group, Quilters, Family History Group, Village archives, RSPB, The Forestry Commission and bee keeping.
There will also be different demonstrators showing skills each day. On Friday Lorna Turner will be showing Yarn Crafts, including spinning and weaving, and the demonstrator on Saturday will be Sue Foster. On Sunday Chrissie Davies will be showing two unusual skills, producing sculpture from recycled glass and jewellery from inner tubes, and Irene Stocks will be showing decorative boxes. On Monday the internationally known potter Glynn Hugo will be demonstrating the potter’s skills.
Refreshments will be on sale each day. Afternoon tea will be available at the Vicarage on Sunday. Come and meet Westleton, and see this unique flower festival and village exhibition for yourself.
Chris Miller will present a talk ‘Suffolk Punch Horses and the Colony Stud of the Suffolk Punch Trust’ in the Church at 7.00 pm on Saturday July 31st. Ticket prices Adults (with wine) £7.00, children (under 16) £4.00, or family ticket £20.00, available from the Village Stores or The White Horse Inn, plus a few on the door on the night.
Contact for further interest is John Bebbington, phone 01728 648943,
e-mail to john@bebbington2.orangehome.co.uk
World champion set to thrill airshow crowds
Reigning Red Bull Air Race world champion Paul Bonhomme is set to thrill spectators at next month’s Lowestoft Seafront Air Festival.
When he is not competing in the high-octane Red Bull air races – or flying a Boeing 747 in his main job for British Airways – Paul is one half of an aerobatic duo known as the Red Bull Matadors.
With his partner, Steve Jones – another Boeing 747 pilot and a former British aerobatics champion – the Matadors perform spectacular aerobatics at airshows in many parts of the world.
Flying their Russian-built Sukhoi Su-26 aircraft, the dynamic duo have performed all over the UK and Europe and have toured China, Japan and the Middle East in the FAI World Grand Prix series – an aerobatic competition with solo and formation categories.
It will be their first visit to Lowestoft Seafront Air Festival where they are due to display their skills on both days, Thursday August 12 and Friday August 13.
The Red Bull Matadors will be part of a spectacular flying programme of over four and a half hours on both days.
The varied line-up includes the world-famous RAF aerobatic team, the Red Arrows – with the first female pilot to join this elite team - and the world’s only flying V-bomber, the Avro Vulcan XH558 which this year is celebrating its 50th birthday.
Other firsts for the 14th Lowestoft Air Festival include the Aerostars, flying six aircraft in exciting formation aerobatics, and the largest single-engine biplane ever produced, the Russian-built Antonov AN-2.
The 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain is being marked with four aircraft from the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight – the Lancaster, Spitfire, Hurricane and Dakota – and another famous aircraft which flew over the beaches on D-Day, the solo Grace Spitfire, flown by the world’s only female Spitfire pilot.
Other aircraft on the packed programme include the world’s only formation wing walking display team, an Alpha Jet from the French Air Force and a Sikorsky Pave Hawk helicopter from the United States Air Force.
Admission to this popular family day out remains free but voluntary donations of £2 per person will again be invited to help meet the £300,000 cost of the event and ensure its future.
To join the Friends of the Air Festival and keep up to date with all the latest news of this year’s big event log on to the website via Lowestoft Air Festival.
FACTFILE: Since 2004 the Air Festival has been organised by an independent and voluntary support group who formed a charitable not-for-profit company, Lowestoft Seafront Air Festival Ltd, working in partnership with Waveney District Council and local charities.
The region’s biggest event last year was attended by an estimated 425,000 spectators and the charity groups who helped at the event received a total of just over £28,000 in commission. This brought the total commission paid by the Air Festival company to local charity groups over a five-year period to more than £118,000.
MAKE A WEEKEND OF IT IN LOWESTOFT!
Click here for Accommodation in Lowestoft
Things to Do in Lowestoft
Take advantage of the great beaches in Lowestoft, and other Suffolk Beaches
For full details of this wonderful festival please see Halesworth Gig in the Park
For more information on Halesworth please see:
A Guide to the town of Halesworth
Accommodation in Halesworth
Thursday 19th August - BY POPULAR REQUEST “CUBAN LIFT” return with their dance music from the Andes.
Tony Hinnigan guitar & charango; Catherine Musker bass; Anna Noakes & Julie Murray flutes and pan pipes & Gary Kettel Latin percussion.
The Nigel Hitchcock Quartet with Mark Nightingale - Friday 20th August
The amazing jazz saxophonist Nigel Hitchcock, has performed to millions of people around the world with artists such as Tom Jones, Wet Wet Wet, Ray Charles and Robbie Williams. At Yoxford he leads a star studded band featuring the brilliant trombonist Mark Nightingale
Mark has been featured with artists as diverse as Frank Sinatra, Cleo Laine, London Brass, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sting and Shakatak. He has penned many compositions, big band arrangements and books of trombone studies.
John Tams & Barry Coope - Saturday 21st August 2010
John Tams described by Mojo as'one of the ultimate British songwriters',had a career spanning four decades in every medium.
A member of the Albion Band and Home Service he is perhaps best known for his work at the National Theatre and as Rifleman Daniel Hagman in the Sharpe television series. He is a five times winner of the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.
He has made over 50 albums as singer, musician or producer and continues to tour festivals and concert stages throughout the UK and Europe. He co-wrote the score for all the Sharpe films alongside Dominic Muldowney and has been a long standing collaborator with Jack Shepherd on numerous productions for stage, screen and radio. Last year John received an Honorary Doctorate from Sheffield Hallam University.
In the early 1980s, Barry Coope was a member of innovative English folk band Muckram Wakes. Later he played with the folk “supergroup” Blue Murder. Around 1990 Barry Coope helped form Coope, Boyes & Simpson, a British vocal folk trio.
Return of Pamela Thorby - Sunday 22nd August
Last year “Pamela Thorby, Elizabeth Kenny and Susanne Heinrich gave what was regarded by many as the finest concert in six festivals”
Pamela, one of the world’s finest recorder players, returns this year to play Vivaldi’s Concerto for Sopranino Recorder in C Major RV443 and Telemann’s Concerto for flute, recorder, strings and continuo in E minor with The Locrian Ensemble.
Bringing together some of the most prominent string soloists in London, THE LOCRIAN ENSEMBLE has established an enviable reputation for its recordings, broadcasts and live performances. This outstanding concert features Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, soloist Rita Manning, violin and also the world premiere of a work for flute and strings by Elgar Howarth with soloist Anna Noakes, flute.
The concert also features a contemporary work for recorder and percussion with Gary Kettel.
For more information on the Yoxford Arts Festival 2010, please see www.yoxfest.co.uk.
Please click on the following link for other venues and attractions in Yoxford.
Venue: Southwold Common, Godyll Road, Southwold, Suffolk, IP18 6AJ
Doors open 6pm – Comedy starts 7.45pm until 10.30pm every day
Following on from the success of the Norwich Comedy Festival, which is now in it’s 5th year, and last year’s 1st Southwold Comedy Festival, Adnams and Red Card Comedy are delighted to bring you a second year of comedic delights from stars such as John Mann, Rich Wilson, Geoff Boyz, Sean Meo and many more. The event promises laughter, good food, beer and wine all hosted in an atmospheric ‘Big Top’.
Doors open at 6pm when you will be invited to sit and relax with good food, a selection of Adnams beers and wines, and soak up what we hope will be August sunshine, with views over the common to the sea. The perfect start to what we are sure will be a fun filled evening.
Admission Fee: £13.50
Red Card Comedy Booking Office - 0844 826 1902
Website: www.redcardcomedyclub.com
Email: info@redcardcomedyclub.com
For more information on the lovely town of Southwold please see -
A Guide to the town of Southwold
Accommodation in Southwold
Eating Out in Southwold
Attractions in Southwold
Shopping in Southwold
The Suffolk Villages Festival
J S Bach and his World: 27-30 August 2010
Artistic Director: Peter Holman
What may well be the first-ever British performance of a St Matthew Passion by Carl Philip Emmanuel Bach, the eldest son of J.S. Bach, will be a highlight of this year’s Suffolk Villages Festival. The annual festival takes place over the August Bank Holiday weekend in a quartet of south Suffolk’s most beautiful churches.
For many years, the younger Bach’s version of the Passion was believed lost. It vanished from a Berlin library at the end of the last war – apparently looted by Soviet soldiers – and was rediscovered by accident in a storeroom at the Ukraine State Archives in Kiev only a decade ago.
First performed in 1769, C.P.E. Bach’s St Matthew Passion follows the example of his more famous father’s setting of the same Gospel and even quotes from it. However, whereas Johann Sebastian’s music was rooted in the late Baroque idiom, Carl Philip Emmanuel’s anticipates the classical styles of Haydn and Mozart.
The young Bach’s work emphasises the humanity of Christ as well as the drama of his betrayal and death. The orchestra includes horns, with timpani thundering out the earthquake that follows Christ’s death on the Cross.
Peter Holman, the festival’s director, conducts the Passion, with the part of Jesus sung by bass-baritone Stephen Varcoe, who also gives a recital of 19th-century German song accompanied by guitar.
J.S. Bach and his World is the theme of this year’s festival, which includes sacred cantatas by the elder Bach and music written for the Dresden court orchestra by his contemporaries, including Telemann and Vivaldi.
The Bank Holiday programme also includes an evening of music performed at the court of Frederick the Great, including works by J.S. Bach, C.P.E. Bach and Frederick the Great himself. Frederick, generally acknowledged to have been a military genius, was also an accomplished flautist. He befriended Voltaire and knew both leading members of the Bach family.
In addition to Peter Holman, this year’s concerts are directed by the distinguished young harpsichordist Steven Devine, who will shortly record the elder Bach’s Goldberg Variations for the Chandos label.
Friday 27 August, 8pm
St Mary’s Church, Stoke by Nayland
J S Bach in Weimar, 1714: Cantatas nos. 12, 18, 54, 199
soloists, Psalmody, The Parley of Instruments
directed by Peter Holman
Saturday 28 August, 12 midday
St James’s Church, Nayland
German Sixteenth-Century Song
John Potter (tenor)
Alison Crum, Roy Marks and Andrew Kerr (early Renaissance viols)
Saturday 28 August, 7.30pm
St Mary’s Church, Stoke by Nayland
Music for the Dresden Court Orchestra
by Vivaldi, Telemann, Hasse, Pisendel and others
Huw Daniel (violin), Philippa Hyde (soprano)
Essex Baroque Orchestra
directed by Steven Devine
Sunday 29 August, 7.30pm
St Mary’s Church, Stoke by Nayland
Music at the Court of Frederick the Great
by J.S. Bach, C.P.E. Bach, Quantz, & Frederick the Great
Jack Edwards (reader), Rachel Latham (flute), Tassilo Erhardt (violin),
Mark Caudle (viola da gamba & violoncello), Steven Devine (harpsichord)
pre-concert talk by Professor Anthony King
Monday 30 August, 12 midday
St Mary’s Church, Boxford
German Nineteenth-Century Song
Stephen Varcoe (baritone), David Miller (guitar)
Monday 30 August, 7.30pm
St Mary’s Church, Hadleigh
soloists, Psalmody, Essex Baroque Orchestra
directed by Peter Holman
C P E Bach: St Matthew Passion (1769)
first British performance
Box office & further information:
01206 366603
box@suffolkvillagesfestival.com
Harvest is back; brighter, fresher and tastier than ever - on 11th and 12th September at Jimmy's Farm, Ipswich.
We are delighted to announce THE ZUTONS and NEWTON FAULKNER as well as an abundance of other bands and chefs, including Angela Hartnett, Hairy Bikers, Rachel Allen, Mark Hix, Tom Parker Bowles and Thomasina Miers.
Also a UK festival exclusive from the award winning CHARLIE & LOLA's Best Bestest Play.
Please check our website www.harvestatjimmys.com for lots more fantastic appearances and activities.
See you all in September!
THE COUNTRYSIDE’S PRESTIGIOUS MUSIC FESTIVAL
The Fressingfield Music Festival returns for its sixth year having established a reputation as one of the best small music festivals in the country.
Stars of the classical and jazz world will perform over five nights from 21 to 25 September at the parish church of St Peter and St Paul, Fressingfield, north Suffolk. Music lovers from Suffolk, Norfolk and beyond are again expected to flock to this intimate venue to see world class musicians. These include renowned violin virtuoso Tasmin Little (21 September), emerging superstar pianist Cordelia Williams (22 September) and legendary jazz vocalist Elaine Delmar (24 September).
Tuesday 21 September
Tasmin Little, the world renowned violinist, opens the festival. Winner of 2008 Classic FM Gramophone Award and noted for being a highly innovative artist, she was featured on the prestigious South Bank Show which followed her groundbreaking project The Naked Violin. She is accompanied by John Lenehan on piano in a programme that includes music by Kreiser, Bach, Mozart, Grieg, Tchaikovsky and Bartok.
Wednesday 22 September
Pianist Cordelia Williams is a rising star in the world of classical music and is this year’s recipient of the Fresssingfield Young Musician Award. Known for her work with contemporary composers, in this recital she will play music by Mozart, Chopin, Beethoven, Ravel and Carroll.
Thursday 23 September
The Choir of Christ’s College, Cambridge will make a welcome return to the Festival with an abridged performance of Handel’s Messiah. The choir is acclaimed as one of Cambridge’s finest mixed ensembles and has established an enviable reputation through worldwide touring, recording and broadcasting
Friday 24 September
Legendary vocalist Elaine Delmar is accompanied by The Brian Dee Trio for a Friday evening of jazz hits taken from the Great American Song Book. Elaine Delmar is accustomed to singing with some of the best big bands and orchestras in the world. For this concert she teams up with highly acclaimed jazz pianist Brian Dee who has performed with stars such as Miles Davis, Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Chet Baker and Elton John, to name but a few.
Saturday 25 September
Fêted baroque ensemble Badinage, known for their critically acclaimed recordings and their countless performances at the South Bank Centre, closes the festival with an evening of cantatas and concertos by Bach, Handel and Vivaldi. They are joined by distinguished counter-tenor David Sheppard.
All concerts will commence at 7.30pm. Tickets can be booked in advance for £12 or at £15 on the door, subject to availability. Tickets for Tuesday’s concert (21 September) cost £15 in advance or £17 at the door. Available by phone 01379 586459 and from mid-August at Fressingfield Stores.
For more local information please see:
A Guide to Eye
Accommodation in Eye
Eating Out in Eye
A Guide to Halesworth
Accommodation in Halesworth
Accommodation in Framlingham
Attractions in Framlingham
The Plough Inn, Hundon is open all day everyday throughout the festival and serving great food all day!
All welcome, with children until 9pm
FREE 4 pint, recyclable take-home jugs when you buy 4 pints of ale
16+ real ales plus ciders and perry
Theme - "YOUR CHOICE"; the ales featured have been voted for and chosen by our lovely ale drinking customers.
Brewers featured include Suffolk's own Old Cannon, Mill Green and Adnams plus brews from Jennings, Shepherd Neame, Timothy Taylor, St Austell, Sharp's, Cotleigh and many, many more.
Free live music on Friday night at 8.30pm from THE SMOKIN' HOGS, Saturday night from JURASSIC ROCK and Sunday evening from THE HARVS (as seen at the CAMRA Norwich Beer Festival)
Taking place at Snape Maltings on 25th and 26th September, the festival will once again showcase the cream of Suffolk’s food and drink producers. Other highlights include cooking demonstrations from celebrity chefs, fun food-related activities, workshops, boat trips, RSPB-guided walks and more.
For full details please see Aldeburgh Food and Drink Festival 2010
For further information on this lovely town, please see
Guide to Aldeburgh
Accommodation in Aldeburgh
Hotels in Aldeburgh
Attractions in Aldeburgh
The Aldeburgh Food and Drink Fringe Festival takes place in the days following the main weekend event of the Aldeburgh Food & Drink Festival and features fringe events throughout East Suffolk on farms, in the countryside, beaches, market towns and villages. These include workshops, behind the scene tours of producers, progressive dinners and specially created menus at supporting restaurants and eateries, family activities, farm visits, guided walks and special cookery demonstrations. Something for everyone!
Please see Aldeburgh Food and Drink Fringe Festival for more information.
For further information on this lovely town, please see
Guide to Aldeburgh
Accommodation in Aldeburgh
Hotels in Aldeburgh
Attractions in Aldeburgh
All events take place at The Cut Arts Centre, Halesworth, IP19 8BY
Sat 9th Oct 7:30 PM
MusicDame Evelyn Glennie
The 2010 Festival opens with one of this country's greatest musicians in a unique solo performance.
Tickets: Standard £25.00
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Sun 10th Oct 7:30 PM
MusicHumphrey Lyttelton Band
with special guest vocalist TINA MAY, the Band celebrate Humph and his music
Tickets: Standard £16.50
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Mon 11th Oct 7:30 PM
FilmAn Audience with Barry Norman
The face of cinema on the BBC for 26 years reveals all
Tickets: Standard £14.50
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Tue 12th Oct 7:30 PM
ComedyArthur Smith at Large
One of Britain's best loved comedians with a unique slant on life
Tickets: Standard £16.50
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Wed 13th Oct 7:30 PM
LectureMark Carwardine: Last Chance to See
An illustrated talk by the zoologist, author and broadcaster, based around his TV series with Stephen Fry: LAST CHANCE TO SEE
Tickets: Standard £12.50
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Thu 14th Oct 7:30 PM
MusicThe Stanford Quartet
Four engaging and talented girls play works by HAYDN, WALTON & JONATHAN DOVE
Tickets: Standard £14.50
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Fri 15th Oct 7:30 PM
ComedyJohn Hegley: The Adventures of Monsieur Robinet
Britain's most innovative comic poet regales us with tales about a Frenchman with some unusual (but clean) habits
Tickets: Standard £14.50
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Sat 16th Oct 10:30 AM
LectureFranck Pontais: Cookery Masterclass
Franck's back! The only French Chef with a Suffolk accent demonstrates more tempting dishes
Tickets: Standard £7.50
TICKETS
You can book online and find details on other booking methods at: www.halesworthartsfestival.org.uk
Or by calling 01986 874264 anytime after 1st September
Multiple Ticket Offer!
Book for any 3 Festival events and get a 20% reduction of the total ticket cost - please see the Halesworth ArtsFestival website for more information.
For more information on Halesworth please see:
A Guide to the town of Halesworth
Accommodation in Halesworth
‘Aldeburgh International Poetry Festival listed as one of the best British literary festivals this autumn by Country Life’
For information on this festival please see Aldeburgh Poetry Festival 2010.
To prepare you for your visit to Aldeburgh please see:
Aldeburgh Town Guide
Restaurants in Aldeburgh Guide
Accommodation in Aldeburgh Guide
If you want your festival to be included here please email the details to suffolkguides.admin@suffolktouristguide.com
Suffolk is the place to come for Festivals, with everything from star studded events such as High Tide and Latitude, to the action packed Lowestoft Air Festival and Honda Formula 4 stoke engine series....
SUFFOLK FESTIVALS
The Suffolk Villages Festival Winter Series 2010 - February, March & May
The 9th Aldeburgh Literary Festival - 5th - 7th March 2010
Jimmy's Science Festival - 13th & 14th March
The Alde Valley Spring Festival - 3rd April - 3rd May 2010
HighTide Festival 30th April - 3rd May 2010
LeeStock Music Festival 1st-2nd May 2010
Bury St Edmunds Fringe Festival 1st-14th May 2010
The East Anglian Dragon Boat Festival - 9th May
25th Bury St Edmunds Festival 2010 14-30th May
Weird and Wonderful Wood - 15th & 16th May 2010
South and Heart of Suffolk Walking Festival 2010 - 15th May–6th June
The Ipswich Food and Drink Festival - 22nd - 23rd May 2010
Pulse Fringe Festival 27th May – 12th June 2010
Felixstowe Drama Festival 29th May – 5th June 2010
Suffolk Folk Festival - 4th - 6th June 2010
Woolpit Festival 2010 - 8th - 20th June 2010
Open Air Concerts at High Lodge Forest Centre - June & July 2010
Alive and V-Dubbin 2010 - 11th -13th June
Aldeburgh Festival - 11th - 27th June 2010
The Debenham Arts Festival 2010 - 18th – 27th June
Framlingham Arts Festival - 25 June to 4 July
The Ip-Art Festival 26 June – 11 July 2010
The 14th Stowmarket Festival of Beer and Brewing 1st-4th July
Maverick Festival - 2nd, 3rd & 4th July 2010
Debenham Country Music Festival - 14th-19th July 2010
Latitude 2010 15th-18th July
Hachfest 2010 - Friday 30th July - Sunday 1st August
Westleton Wild Flower Festival and Village Life Exhibition - Friday 30th July - Monday 2nd August
Lowestoft Seafront Air Festival 2010 - Thursday August 12th and Friday August 13th
Halesworth Gig in the Park 6-8th August 2010
Yoxford Arts Festival - August 19th-22nd
Southwold Comedy Festival 27th-29th August
Suffolk Villages Festival 27th-30th August
Harvest at Jimmy's Farm - 11th-12th September 2010
Fressingfield Music Festival - 21-25 September 2010
The 5th Hundon Plough Beer Festival - 23rd to 26th September
Aldeburgh Food and Drink Festival - 25th-26th September 2010
Aldeburgh Food and Drink Fringe Festival - 25th September - 9th October 2010
Halesworth Arts Festival - 9th-24th October 2010
22nd Aldeburgh Poetry Festival - 5th-7th November 2010
The Suffolk Villages Festival Winter Series 2010 - February, March & May
Check out the wonderful Suffolk Villages Festival Winter Series by clicking on the following links - -
Music Concerts in Suffolk - February
Music Concerts in Suffolk - March
Music Concerts in Suffolk - May
The 9th Aldeburgh Literary Festival - 5th - 7th March 2010
All Events in The Jubilee Hall, Aldeburgh
Friday 5th March
Event 1: 10.00am - Kate Charlton Jones (Yates)
Event 2: 3.30pm - Richard Mabey
Event 3: 5.00pm - Anthea Bell on Stefan Zweig
Event 4: 6.30pm - Sandi Toksvig
Saturday 6th March
Event 5: 10.00am - Gillian Tett: Fool’s Gold
Event 6: 11.30am - Henry Hitchings
Event 7: 2.30pm - Simon Singh and Edzard Ernst
Event 8: 4.00pm - Francis Wheen & Tristram Hunt
Event 9: 5.30pm - Tariq Ali
Sunday 7th March
Event 10: 9.30am - Jenny Uglow: Charles II
Event 11: 11.00am - Karen Armstrong
Event 12: 12.30pm - Sam Kiley and Frank Gardner
Event 13: 2.30pm - Francis Wheen
Event 14: 4.00pm - Taboo-Be-Do: Songs … with Terence Blacker
Bookings can only be made by post or by retuning your form to The Aldeburgh Bookshop.
Please address all correspondence to: The 9th Aldeburgh Literary Festival, 42 High Street, Aldeburgh, Suffolk, IP15 5AB. Any enquiries to 01728 452587.
Jimmy's Science Festival - 13th & 14th March
As part of National Science Week, Jimmy's Farm, Ipswich are holding a fantastic Science Festival on 13th & 14th March at the farm to get you excited about science in food, farming and animals!
The Science Festival will feature:
* Stage Presentations and Workshops
* Science Activities
* Science Exhibitors
* Live Music
* Animal Petting and Feeding
* Lamb Bottle Feeding
* Delicious Hot and Cold Food
* Roast Pork Stand and Bar
To celebrate National Science Week and the farms education programme, all children can come to the event for FREE!!!
Adults tickets are £5 in advance (online) and £6 on the gate.
The Alde Valley Spring Festival - 3rd April - 3rd May 2010
A four week celebration of food, farming, landscape & the arts at White House Farm, Great Glemham, Saxmundham, Suffolk, IP17 1LS
The Alde Valley Spring Festival celebrates food, farming, landscape and the arts - some of the things that make East Suffolk so beautiful and special to explore. It is based at White House Farm in the Upper Alde Valley, next to Great Glemham, and runs for 4 weeks, with a Festival Exhibition, Woodland Nature Walk, Hedgerow Walk and Alde Valley Food Adventure menus at partner venues in the valley. The Festival also celebrates the remarkable food scene in the Alde Valley - one of the few river valleys in England that is still superstore-free, from source to sea. The Alde Valley Spring Festival is supported by Creating the Greenest County Partnership, East Feast, Suffolk Wildlife Trust and Natural England's Higher Level Stewardship Scheme, IT is twinned with Pesta Nukenen Bario - The Bario & Kelabit Highlands Food & Cultural Festival in central Borneo.
The Festival Exhibition ~ open Tues ~ Sun 10am ~ 6pm at White House Farm
New work by Stuart Anderson, Marchela Dimitrova, Meriel Ensom, Jason Gathorne-Hardy, Kate Giles, Maggi Hambling, Mercury Hare, Raymond Hopkins, Robina Jack, Tory Lawrence, Ffiona Lewis, Tessa Newcomb, Jim Parsons, Dylan Pym & Sam Taplin.
Also woodland craft products, bird boxes, sheepskins, walking sticks and Simply Snape Jacob Sheep blankets. New icons by Artist in Residence Marchela Dimitrova. Bring a picnic. There are good local foods at farm café T 01728 747 717, Friday Street Farm Shop T 01728 602 783, Lawsons Delicatessen T 01728 454 052, Garnetts in Hacheston and many local pubs in the Valley.
Festival Mardles ~ Thursday evenings 6.30 for 7pm until 9.30pm at White House Farm
‘Mardle’ is Suffolk for talk or chat. The Festival Mardles are new for 2010. Entrance is £10 pp including refreshment upon arrival and light supper or ‘snaps’ after the talk. BYO wine. All tickets must be pre-booked. Max 30 guests. For bookings please call T 01728 663 531 or E riveralde@btinternet.com.
Mardle 1 : Suffolk Ball Back Chairs ~ 8th April. ‘Ball Back’ chairs, typically made from elm wood, represent a distinct style within the East Anglian chair making tradition. The talk explores the history of ball back chairs, the range of designs and possible reasons for the use of elm and absence of makers marks.
Mardle 2 : The Early Saints of Suffolk ~ 15th April. The talk will look at the arrival of Christianity in Suffolk in the Anglo Saxon period, with evangelists coming from the West coast of Ireland, France and Constantinople. This period of early conversion provided foundations for many of Suffolk’ parish churches.
Mardle 3 : David Gentleman - Blaxhall, George Ewart Evans & the new Edition of “Ask the Fellows who Cut the Hay” ~ 22nd April. David Gentleman spent many weeks during the summer of 2009 drawing and painting in and around Blaxhall. More than 60 pen-and-ink drawings and watercolours from this extraordinary output were included in the new collector's edition of “Ask the Fellows Who Cut the Hay” by Full Circle Editions. David Gentleman will discuss his experiences last summer and his memories of George Ewart Evans, his father-in-law, who was born in April 1909.
Mardle 4 : Pesta Nukenen Bario ~ 29th April. This last talk focuses on the links between White House Farm and The Alde Valley Food Adventures’ sister festival Pesta Nukenen Bario, otherwise known as ‘The Bario & Kelabit Highlands Food & Cultural Festival’ - a pioneering community owned festival located in the Heart of Borneo area of Sarawak, East Malaysia.
Festival Walks ~ Rendezvous 11am on Saturday Mornings at White House Farm
The two Festival Walks will last approximately 1½ hours and both start from White House Farm. Please bring warm outdoor clothing and comfortable footwear. Families welcome, but no dogs please. £15 pp; children under 16 £8 ; under 5’s free]. The price includes refreshments upon arrival and a light lunch after the walk. BYO wine. All tickets must be pre-booked. Max 20 guests. For bookings please call T 01728 663 531 or E riveralde@btinternet.com.
Walk 1 : Wild Food Walk ~ Saturday 10th. A guided introduction to foraging for seasonal wild foods in hedgerows and public access woodland in Suffolk. The walk will include guidance on identification, safety, foraging practices and recipes.
Walk 2 : Woodland Walk ~ Saturday 17th April. The guided walk will take you through a range of woodland habitats with introductions to tree identification, woodland crafts, lore and timber identification in the barns. There will also be demonstrations of chairmaking and wood carving from 2pm after lunch.
Festival Knowledge Fair ~ 10 am – 3 pm Friday 23rd April at White House Farm
In association with Creating the Greenest County Partnership, East Feast and Natural England’s Higher Level Stewardship Scheme. Workshop + seminar + discussion exploring themes of contributive economics, shared learning, farming for wildlife and local foods. Entrance £10 pp ; children under 12 free ; to include refreshments upon arrival and light vegetarian lunch & afternoon farm walk. More details on www.foodadventures.co.uk. Bring outdoor clothes. Max 40 guests. T 01728 663 531 or E riveralde@btinternet.com for more information and all bookings.
Getting to the Festival:
Come by bus [118/119 Suffolk Onboard], bike [inland National Cycle Route], train [Saxmundham/Ipswich/London], foot [footpaths] or car [free parking]. Families welcome. No dogs please.
We look forward to welcoming you to the farm – and wish you very happy Food Adventures in the beautiful Alde Valley of East Suffolk!
For more information please see: www.foodadventures.co.uk
HighTide Festival 30th April - 3rd May 2010
HighTide have curated a provocative and stimulating line-up of ancillary events, including panel debates, talks, and film screenings, inspired by the three key themes addressed in the 2010 HighTide Festival productions: global warming, abuses of power, and freedom of the press.For more information see
For full details please see HighTide Festival 2010
LeeStock Music Festival 1st-2nd May 2010
LeeStock is about music. It’s about people. It’s about fun and it’s definitely about remembering. It’s a little bit about football and a lot about bands. Whether you like listening to bands, spending time with your friends, raising money for charity or raising a drink to the legend that is Lee; LeeStock is what you need.
Starting in 2006, LeeStock was born when a bunch of Lee’s friends wanted to put on a tribute gig in the memory of music mad Lee Dunford who had sadly passed away earlier that year. The gig was a rip-roaring success, very well attended as be-fitting someone as popular as Lee.
Performers
Starting Saturday at 2pm:
The Bimmys
Geometrics
Tha London Undarground
Chunky Ate A Bee
Hi-Fi Idols
The Amber Blacks
Tom Sanderson
And Sunday from 2pm:
Dillon Wyte
Jack O’Brien
David Woodcock
Baptist and The Rebels Roots Band
The Rascos
Daniel Broadest
Teddy-James Driscoll
The venue for LeeStock 2010 has now been confirmed as the White Horse, North Street, Sudbury.
Sudbury is easily accesible by car, train and bus. The market town is located between Colchester and Bury St Edmunds with Ipswich just 35 minutes away by car. There is a train station which shuttles towards Marks Tey with connections then to Colchester and London Liverpool Street. Bus services run daily throughout the area with good links with Bury, Colchester, Ipswich, Haverhill, Halstead, Long Melford, Glemsford and most other minor villages in the area.
There is a camp site just outside Sudbury in Great Cornard (which we will hopefully provide you with more details and a link up shortly) as well as many hotels. We’re hoping that with this venue we can make LeeStock 2010 the best yet!
Tickets are available to buy online at www.wegottickets.com
Tickets can also be obtained by e-mailing tickets@leestock.org
or by calling 07790 431127
You will need the ticket for entry on both days so please keep hold of it.
For FULL DETAILS of this great festival, please see www.leestock.org
For more information on Sudbury, please also see -
Guide to Sudbury
Accommodation in Sudbury
Eating Out in Sudbury
Shopping in Sudbury
Bury St Edmunds Fringe Festival 1st-14th May 2010
Fans of live entertainment, be it comedy, music, dance, theatre or street performance are in for a treat when the Bury Fringe Festival 2010 launches on May 1st. With an extensive and varied programme spanning a fortnight of events and shows, hosted by numerous venues throughout the town of Bury St Edmunds, there will be something to involve and appeal to every single member of our community.
For full programme details and to get tickets please see - www.buryfringe.com
For more information on Bury St Edmunds, please see a Guide to Bury St Edmunds
Search for Accommodation in Bury St Edmunds.
Search for Eating Out in Bury St Edmunds
Search for Activities in Bury St Edmunds
The East Anglian Dragon Boat Festival - 9th May
Make waves at the East Anglian Dragon Boat Festival in 2010!
On Sunday 9th May the East Anglian Dragon Boat Festival returns to Nicholas Everitt Park, Oulton Broad in Lowestoft for what promises to be the best year yet!
The Festival is a not-to-be-missed opportunity for companies, organizations, clubs and groups of friends to test themselves in a totally different way, whilst promoting their organisation to a large local audience and raising money for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH) or the charity of their choice. The East Anglian Dragon Boat Festival has to date raised more than £75,000 for EACH and you can help increase that amount.
East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices provides vital support for children and young people in the area with life-threatening illnesses, and they offer help varying from music therapy to bereavement counselling. Not only will your entry help support such a worthwhile charity, it is also a fantastic team building opportunity - what better way to really get to know what makes your colleagues and competitors tick!
In this spectacular dragon boat race crews of up to 11 people will battle it out in a series of fast and furious heats and finals over a 200m course in 30’ dragon boats to raise funds for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices. All potential teams need to worry about is entering and raising as much sponsorship as they can, as all the dragon boats and racing equipment is provided and no previous experience is necessary- just be sure to bring buckets of team spirit and enthusiasm! 2010 is the Chinese year of the tiger, so don’t miss out on this opportunity to show you share the same traits of courage and fierceness!
Dragon boat racing has an ancient Chinese history and the Festival is a re-enactment of a tragic event that took place more than 2,000 years ago in the kingdom of Chu. Legend has it that falsely accused of treason and exiled by jealous rivals in the government, despairing warrior poet, Qu Yuan, threw himself into the Mi Lo River. Local fishermen rowed out to save the drowning poet and tried to rescue him from vicious fish by beating the water with their paddles. But their attempts failed and every year in Hong Kong a Tuen Ng (Dragon Boat) Festival is held as a mark of respect for the fishermen’s frantic efforts and to commemorate the tragic death of Qu Yuan. The dragon boat’s fierce looking dragon’s heads were added later to ward off evil spirits and in Hong Kong special dumplings are eaten to represent the dumplings that were thrown in to the river to stop the fish eating the mighty Qu’s body.
According to the Chinese calendar, 2010 is the Year of the Tiger, symbolising great courage, stealth and fearlessness, coincidentally the perfect attributes for dragon boat team members! No previous experience is required to take part in the East Anglian Dragon Boat Festival, just plenty of team spirit so why not take up the challenge? The dragon boats and all racing equipment are provided and each crew is guaranteed a minimum of three races. The Festival offers a full day of fun on land as well as water with plenty of activities on the bankside to entertain teams and spectators between races.
Carl Brooks, Corporate Fundraiser at East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH), said: “Relying as we do on voluntary public support for the majority of our income of around £5.8 million a year, we are delighted to once again be the official charity for the Dragon Boat Festival. The money raised through the generosity of the teams taking part will go towards the one-to-one nursing care and support that is so vital to life-threatened local children and their families”. The top fundraisers for EACH will win the charity trophy plus a full day of spa, gym use and lunch kindly donated by the Marriott Sprowston Manor in Norwich.
Carol Lester, director of Festival organisers, Gable Events, adds; “The Festival is a great chance for companies and organisations to try something completely different, promote themselves to a large local audience, network with local companies and potential clients and raise money for EACH. It is also a fantastic team building opportunity - what better way to get to know what makes your colleagues and competitors tick! We expect the Festival to be as popular as ever this time around so we recommend teams get their entries in early to guarantee a place”.
Up to 50 teams from all over East Anglia are expected to take part in this year’s Festival, many of them new and many returning annually to join in the fun. One of the companies taking part for the first time last year was the UK’s largest self catering holiday company, Hoseasons Holidays, which has its head office in Lowestoft. Such was the enthusiasm from the staff for joining in last time around that the team had more crew volunteers than places – it was a case of a paddle off to select the first team!
Teams should encourage their families and friends to come along and support them too, as not only can they offer moral support to the teams they can also take advantage of the bankside activities. These will include Chinese lion dancing, funfair, street entertainers, children’s activities, bar and catering- so there really is something to keep everyone amused for the duration of the Festival.
The Festival is supported by Waveney District Council, BBC Suffolk and The Lowestoft Journal.
Other keen Festival supporters include solicitors, Birketts LLP, who have offices in Norwich and Ipswich. Victoria Cole, Marketing Co-ordinator, comments: “We find taking part in this event great for team building, as well as raising the company profile and getting our name out there. The staff enjoy a great day out, whilst knowing they are making a difference to EACH by their charity fundraising”. With trophies not only for the top three crews but also for the top mixed crew, the best-dressed crew and the crew that raises the most money for EACH, there really is something for every team to aim for!
There will also be plenty of activities on the bankside to entertain teams and spectators between races including Chinese lion dancing, funfair, street entertainers, children's activities, bar and catering.
For further information and to make sure you are on the starting line on 9th May please call Gable Events today to request an entry form on 01780 470718.
World War II Dakota set to wow the crowds at the East Anglian Dragon Boat Festival!
Visitors to the Festival will be scanning the skies, as organisers, Gable Events, have secured a spectacular flypast by a World War II Royal Air Force Dakota of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain and what better way to commemorate it than to have one of its Memorial Flight planes grace the skies above Nicholas Everitt Park on a day that already promises to be jam-packed with the thrills and spills of Chinese dragon boat racing.
The flypast at the East Anglian Dragon Boat Festival at lunchtime on Sunday 9th May will provide a chance for the crowds to witness the majesty of the Dakota as it soars above the racing dragon boats and it will not be the only attraction! Spectators and competitors alike will be able to take full advantage of the wide variety of entertainment on offer – from fairground rides to fun inflatables and Chinese lion dancing to the performances of the local Venue of Performing Arts – there will be something for everyone!
There is still plenty of time to get a team together and join in the racing and there isn’t a better team building event in the region as hundreds of companies and organisations from across the region have already discovered. Teams of up to 11 people are invited to battle it out in the 30’ Chinese dragon boats with no previous experience necessary. The dragon boats and all equipment are provided, each team is guaranteed a minimum of three races and the top fundraisers for nominated charity, East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices, will win a superb celebratory meal and use of the gym and spa at the Marriott Sprowston Manor.
As Victoria Cole, Marketing Co-ordinator of local solicitors Birketts LLP, comments; “The Dragon Boat Festival is a great day for staff motivation and team building, whilst also giving us the opportunity to get the Birketts name out there. We enjoy the friendly rivalry between the teams and the family atmosphere plus the opportunity to network in such a fun way! The staff all have such a great time at the Festival, new professional relationships are formed and the chance to raise money for such a great charity really inspires the team members”.
So why not show you have the bulldog spirit of the Battle of Britain and challenge your colleagues and competitors by entering a team into the Dragon Boat Festival today from your company, club or group of friends!
For more information please contact Gable Events on 01780 470718
25th Bury St Edmunds Festival 2010 14-30th May
Bury St Edmunds Festival 2010 runs from Friday 14 May to Sunday 30 May, and celebrates 25 years of bringing the finest performers and freshest ideas to the historic market town at the heart of the Suffolk countryside.
The 17-day Festival is one of the best-loved cultural events in East Anglia offering an exciting mix of contemporary and classical music, outdoor concerts, jazz, folk, opera, dance, film, poetry, comedy, walks, street theatre and much more.
A party night will signal the start of this year’s Festival, with a Queen and Madness Tribute Night to set the ball rolling. The popular outdoor gigs in the Abbey Gardens are spread over two Fridays to give revellers a great start to Festival weekends. The traditional Beating Retreat sunset ceremony moves to close the Festival and the town’s first Food and Drink Festival celebrating the best of local produce will be hosted by Bury St Edmunds-based brewers Greene King.
This year will also see the formation of a Festival jazz orchestra, plus adult and youth choirs to perform world music with South African band Mbawula, while local musicians can showcase their talents by busking around the town.
The Festival brochure will be launched among Festival Friends at the Angel Hotel, Bury St Edmunds on Monday 15 February and can then be viewed as an e-magazine on the Festival website at www.buryfestival.co.uk. You can now also keep up to speed with all the latest news and behind the scenes action by following the Festival on Facebook and Twitter.
Tickets are now on sale for the 2010 Bury St Edmunds Festival and are already selling quickly so call the box office on 01284 769505 or visit the Festival website at www.buryfestival.co.uk to make sure you can get the tickets you want.
Festival highlights include:
Gala Cathedral concerts: the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra with soloist Chloe Hanslip performing the Philip Glass’ Violin Concerto (16 May), and the Armonico Consort celebrating the 400th anniversary of Monteverdi’s Vespers (25 May) and Britain’s favourite soprano Lesley Garrett (18 May).
Acclaimed performers: TV favourite Adrian Edmondson and The Bad Shepherds punk/folk band (25 May), pub comedian Al Murray (15 May), poet John Hegley (26 May), Leeds Piano Competition’s first female winner Sofya Gulak (27 May) and jazz singer Clare Teal (29 May).
New works and fusions: a world premiere of music for piano and strings by Nathan Williamson at the Festival Eucharist (16 May), Dante Quartet and Kings College Choir premiere new work by Roxana Panufnik (24 May), while cellist Natalie Clein and Simon Fisher Turner on electronics find musical ‘Resonances’ at historic Ickworth House performing Bach suites and new works by Fyfe Dangerfield of The Guillemots (28 May).
Great outdoor events: a Queen and Madness Tribute night gets the Festival party started (14 May), the return of The Dubliners guarantees a good craic (21 May) and Bury World brings a chance for local people to perform alongside Mbawula (22 May) in the Abbey Gardens. The Festival ends with the Beating Retreat on Angel Hill (30 May).
Festival firsts: Greene King brewery hosts a new Real Food & Beer Festival featuring the best local produce (15 & 16 May), Sonnet Walks bring the bard’s poems to life in the streets of Bury (15 May) and there’s time to pick up a few dance moves before Monica Vasconcelos’ Vintage Brazil Samba Night (27 May).
For more information on the town, please see a Guide to Bury St Edmunds
Search for Accommodation in Bury St Edmunds.
Search for Eating Out in Bury St Edmunds
Search for Activities in Bury St Edmunds
Weird and Wonderful Wood - 15th & 16th May 2010
Weird and Wonderful Wood on 15th & 16th May 2010 promises to be a fun-packed event for the whole family! Please click on the for full details.
South and Heart of Suffolk Walking Festival 2010 - 15th May–6th June
Taking place between Saturday 15th May and Sunday 6th June, the annual South and Heart of Suffolk Walking Festival will feature around 30 guided walks in a variety of locations to suit different tastes and fitness levels. A different kind of walking festival, it will feature some outings accompanied by a poet and storyteller plus photographic and twilight nature walks.
The region, with its softly undulating landscapes, pretty villages and magnificent cultural heritage, is the perfect place to relax and enjoy the fresh air while exploring its countryside on foot.
Walks range from gentle 2-3 mile country rambles and medieval meanders through ancient villages and towns to longer and more energetic outings of up to 12 miles through Suffolk’s beautiful countryside. Many include lunch and afternoon tea stops with a chance to sample some fresh local produce, while for others walkers are asked to bring their own picnic.
Special interest outings include Wildlife Discovery on 15th May, a circular walk taking in the habitats at Grove Farm, near Thurston where conservation and farming can be seen working side by side, and an early morning walk on 22nd May around Arger Fen to watch and hear the dawn wildlife and celebrate the 40th anniversary of the designation of the Dedham Vale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. This ends with breakfast at the idyllic Assington Mill.
Walkers will be joined by poet and performer Dean Park on four of the routes who will recite poems and stories along the way; there will also be a photographic walk on 22nd May starting out from the Beyond the Image Gallery at Thornham Magna when everyone is encouraged to bring a camera, and a chance to visit the sites associated with the famous murder of Maria Marten in the Red Barn at Polstead on 23rd May.
There are also several walks with activities to attract a younger audience such as Mister Stevenson’s Light Railway on Bank holiday Monday, 31st May, which follows the route of the ‘Middy’ to discover how to interpret landscape clues, and the Scavenger Hunt at Thornham Walks – a gentle afternoon stroll through the woods hunting for a given list of items.
The South and Heart of Suffolk Walking Festival is organised by Mid Suffolk and Babergh District Councils and sponsored by the Discover Suffolk Project, which aims to encourage local residents and visitors to get out and about in the scenic Suffolk countryside.
Pre-booking is essential for all walks by calling the Tourist Information Centre at either Lavenham on 01787 248207 or Mid Suffolk on 01449 676800; they would also be able to advise on places to stay. Many of the walks are free while for others the prices range from £2 up to £20 per person (latter includes lunch); dogs are allowed on some walks but must be kept on a lead at all times. For further information or to download a copy of the Walking Festival programme, visit website www.southandheartofsuffolk.org.uk.
The Ipswich Food and Drink Festival - 22nd - 23rd May 2010
at Christ Church Park, Ipswich
(Park Road or Westerfield Road entrances)
Starts 10.30am finishes 4.30pm
A glorious event in the wonderful Christchurch Park in the centre of thriving Ipswich. The Festival has a celebrity chef kitchen, lots of food and drink stalls. Come and try loads of wonderful food and drink. Have lunch or tea and cake. Wander about this beautiful park. Listen to the band playing. Potter around the stalls tasting some of their delicious wares.
All in marquees in the park – come rain or shine you will have a great time!
For full details please see www.colchesterfoodanddrinkfestival.co.uk
Guide to Ipswich
Ipswich Attractions
A Guide to Ipswich Hotels
Accommodation in and around Ipswich
Eating out in Ipswich
Pubs in Ipswich
Pulse Fringe Festival 27th May – 12th June 2010
Just a short train ride from London, PULSE ’10 fills the theatres, galleries, offices and caravans of Ipswich with a three week long explosive celebration of the most vibrant, bold and brilliant theatre from across the UK.
For further details on this year's Pulse Festival please see Pulse Fringe Festival
For more local information please see:
Guide to Ipswich
Ipswich Attractions
A Guide to Ipswich Hotels
Accommodation in and around Ipswich
Eating out in Ipswich
Pubs in Ipswich
Felixstowe Drama Festival 29th May – 5th June 2010
The 2010 Festival will be held as usual over the May Bank Holiday week at the Spa Pavilion Theatre on Felixstowe's picturesque seafront. Performances will begin each evening at 7.30pm. but please note that there will be NO PERFORMANCE on Tuesday night or Wednesday night.
LINE-UP OF PLAYS:
Saturday 29th May - Art (comedy) by Yasmina Reza, Tryst Theatre
Cast:
MARC - Alan Clark
SERGE - Brian Paterson
YVAN - Craig Murray
Director - Alan Clark
Three actors. One painting. One big argument brewing! One hell of a comedy!
“The three guys play someplace between the elegance of The Three Tenors and the slapstick of The Three Stooges.”
"If you haven't seen it yet, I envy you the discovery. And if you have seen it before...I envy you the re-discovery!"
Serge has bought a modern abstract painting for a huge sum of money. Marc is disgusted and cannot believe that a friend of his could possibly want such a ghastly work. Yvan attempts, unsuccessfully, to placate both sides while struggling with the plans for his wedding.
Playing somewhere between Moliere and Woody Allen, the comedy is less about art and more about friendship tested to its absolute limit.
Sunday 30th May - Under Milk Wood (play) by Dylan Thomas, Rushmere Players
Monday 31st May - Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, Deben Players
Thursday 3rd June - Happy Jack by John Godber, Cardiff Players
Friday 4th June - The Importance of being Earnest (comedy) by Oscar Wilde, Parkside Players
Saturday 5th June - Like a Virgin (play) by Gordon Steel, In Yer Space
CAST
Angela Amy Cartridge
Maxine Gwyneth Owen-Pullin
Viv Katie Leahy
Ken Ben Hynes
Monkey Ollie Pilkington
The play is set in the 1990s in Manchester in a variety of locations ranging from Angela's bedroom, front room to a club.
There will be one interval of fifteen minutes.
Director Colin Snell
Sound Tom Killoran
Lighting Andrew Gray
Choreography Gwyneth Owen-Pullin
Photography Christopher Holmes Photography, Kendal
This powerful play with music is a romp through the bubble-gum years of teenage life. Angela and Maxine, both sixteen, attack life with laughter and excitement. Besotted with Madonna they truant from school, form a band, attempt to write songs - and live out their adolescent dreams of becoming famous. Meanwhile Angela's mother Viv is distraught after her husband leaves her for another woman. She struggles to come to terms with herself and her daughter. A volatile but loving relationship develops as the two grow to appreciate each other's different needs: hope, sex, ambition, despair and most of all love.
The Adjudicator:
In 2010 our Diamond Festival will see Tony Rushforth making a welcome return to Felixstowe.
Tony studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London and acted with the Harrogate Repertory Company and also directed productions at the Bradford Playhouse, the Ashcroft Theatre in Croydon and at the Edinburgh Festival.
For twenty years he was Head of the Drama Department at St. Mary's University College in Strawberry Hill. He spent six months as Visiting Fellow in Performing Arts at Melbourne University and adjudicated the Sydney Theatre Festival before returning to act in the film The Opium Wars. For six years Tony was the Artistic Director of The Questors International Theatre Festival in Ealing which enabled him to to travel and see the work of many European companies.
More recently he has been busy directing and also teaching Theatre Workshops in the UK and in Europe and for the Drama League of Ireland where his travels have taken him to Dublin, Cork, Galway and two Summer Schools at Maynooth University. Tony writes for the theatre and his plays include The Kerry Dance, Close-Up, Charade and Seascape. For six years he was a judge for the NDFA New Play Award.
Tony Rushforth is a Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music, a member of The Writers Guild, The Society for Theatre Research and The Guild of Drama Adjudicators. He also has an MA in Modern Drama. He has adjudicated the Irish, Scottish, English and Welsh One Act Finals. In 2004 and 2007 he adjudicated the All Ireland Finals in Athlone and Wexford and last year was at the One Act International Festival in Brussels.
Tony is delighted to be paying a return visit to the prestigious Felixstowe Festival.
Further information about the Felixstowe Drama Festival can be found by visiting the website www.showlitesoundandlight.co.uk/festival.
Tickets:
Spa Pavilion TheatreTickets can be booked in any of the following ways:
•at the Box Office 10am - 5pm Monday to Saturday
•by telephone on 01394 282126 during the Box Office opening hours
•using the Ticketmaster 24hr. hotline on 0844 847 2372
•on line at ticketmaster.co.uk
Tickets should be on general sale from 30th March 2010. For current ticket prices please contact the Box Office.
Booking Charges:
When booking directly with the Felixstowe Box Office there is a charge of £1.50 per transaction if you use a credit card. There is no charge if you use a debit card. For any transaction there will be an additional charge of £1.00 if you wish your tickets to be posted to you.
When booking through Ticketmaster, using either the 24hr. phone number or on-line, there will be a per ticket service and booking charge.
For more information on this lovely town, please see Guide to Felixstowe
Accommodation in Felixstowe
Eating Out in Felixstowe
Activities in Felixstowe
Suffolk Folk Festival - 4th - 6th June 2010
Suffolk Folk Festival line up announced.
Julie Felix is headlining the opening concert of the 6th Suffolk Folk Festival which takes place in Woodbridge on the weekend of 4 – 6 June. Julie will be remembered by many from her regular spot on The Frost Report and in her own TV series from the 1960s and 70s. She is still recording, touring and performing with the same passion and humour that have always been her trademarks. Julie will be supported at this concert at the Seckford Theatre by Rachel and Lillias and Paul & Liz Davenport.
The Grand Ceilidh on the Saturday evening at the Abbey School features the music of The Great White Steamchicken with Ian Wilson from Peeping Tom as the dance caller.
The free open air concert in Elmshurst Park on Sunday afternoon features displays of belly dancing by Naia and Lilith Dreaming and morris with Green Dragon as well as performances by four local bands – The Larks, The Bounty Hounds, Flaming June and Pagan Molly.
New events this year include a music and craft fair in the Salvation Army Hall, free concerts in Woodbridge Library on Saturday and Sunday, folk music concerts with many of the festival’s artists plus Stealing Sheep, Crownstreet and Shadows in the Shade, and belly dancing workshops with Naia.
And on the Saturday afternoon there is a rare chance to see Steamchicken perform in concert as OSJB – the Original Steamchicken Jazz Band – who will perform dance tunes and songs from both folk and jazz genres and trace the evolution of traditional themes into jazz, blues and popular music in the late 19th century.
The Festival is also one of the largest summer gatherings of morris and sword dancers in the East of England as hundreds of dancers and musicians brighten up the streets of Woodbridge.
Tickets for the workshops, concerts and ceilidh are on sale now, with prices from £2 to £10 or an All Day Saturday ticket for just £12 and a Weekend Ticket for £22. Ticket details and booking forms are available from the website at www.onesuffolk.co.uk/SuffolkFolkFestival.
The Festival relies on the generosity of folk over the weekend and, with more than 20 hours of free events, it must be worth the price of a pint.
For further information on the town, please see Guide to Woodbridge
Accommodation in Woodbridge
Eating Out in Woodbridge
Woolpit Festival 2010 - 8th - 20th June 2010
For full details of this year's festival please see Woolpit Festival
Woolpit is a lovely village situated just off the the A14 between Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket. For more information on nearby towns, attractions and accommodation, please see:
Guide to Bury St Edmunds
Accommodation in Bury St Edmunds.
Eating Out in Bury St Edmunds
Activities in Bury St Edmunds
Attractions in Stowmarket
Shopping in Stowmarket
Open Air Concerts at High Lodge Forest Centre - June & July 2010
The Open Air Concerts at High Lodge Forest Centre in Thetford
Forest Park, in association with The Forestry Commission, have a fantastic line-up of concerts this year featuring Keane on 10th June, Simply Red on 11th June, and Doves on 12th June. New concerts announced for July include The Saturdays on 9th July and Katie Melua on 10th July.
Please see Music in Suffolk - June and Music in Suffolk - July for full details and booking information.
Latitude 15th – 18th July
It's more than just a music festival!
Tickets for Latitude 2010 went on sale on Tuesday 9th March.
LATITUDE is probably Britain's most successful new Arts and Music Festival, and it returns for an incredible 5th Edition on 15-18th July 2010, set in the beautiful countryside of Henham Park Estate on Suffolk’s Sunrise Coast.
Latitude continues to lead the way as a bold and pioneering festival cherry-picking the very best from the worlds of music, theatre, comedy, literature, film, poetry, dance, art, fashion and cabaret and bringing them together for one glorious weekend.
Latitude's Top 5...highlights
In honour of our 5th Edition, we thought we'd share our favourite memories from previous years. Each week we'll bring you Latitude's Top 5 things.
If you'd like to send in your own experiences, email info@latitudefestival.co.uk and we'll publish them online.
~ *~ Thom Yorke's blissed out Sunday slot last year. How beautiful was listening to 'Reckoner' in the glorious sunshine!
~ *~ Britten Sinfonia was the first full orchestra to appear at an outdoor music festival. Truly magical.
~ *~ Royal Shakespeare Company sent hundreds of zombies spilling off the stage blurring staged theatre with walkabout performances. It had to be seen to be believed!
~ *~ The ethereal Music Of The Spheres floating serenely across the lake, including the suspended flautist within, much to everyone's surprise.
~ *~ The legendary Patti Smith performing two very special performances on not only the main music stage, the Obelisk Arena, but also in the Poetry Arena in our inaugural year.
These are just a few of the many memories Latitude has mustered. Latitude’s extensive line-up is an incredible assortment of riches that can keep you entertained all weekend… a leisurely stroll through the festival’s magical woods and beyond can lead to all manner of untold treasures and unexpected pleasures. There's so much to do and see, you'll just have to come and experience it for yourselves.
For full details of the festival please see Latitude Festival 2010
For accommodation nearby please see:
Accommodation in Southwold
Accommodation in Halesworth
Accommodation in Saxmundham
North Manor Farmhouse B&B
The Angel Inn, Wangford - ALMOST FULLY BOOKED, SO HURRY!!
Alive and V-Dubbin 2010 - 11th -13th June
Alive and VDubbin is Suffolk Biggest VW Show.
The Alive and V Dubbin show is in the heart of the beautiful county of Suffolk, at The Mid Suffolk Showground, Stonham Barns, Stonham, IP14 6AT.
Alive and V-Dubbin was set up and is run by the Suffolk Bug’rs VW Club. The show is run as a not-for-profit show, with all takings and profits made reinvested in future Alive and V-Dubbin shows.
We are very proud of the entertainment we have on offer.
This year it ranges from a load of Great Local Bands, Beer Tent, Climb Spider Mountain, VW Vehicle Displays, Free Skate Ramp and VW Bouncy Castle and not to mention loads of Fun and Activities for the Kids too, and a Show and Shine competition.
We also have an Auto Jumble if you are looking for 2nd hand parts. A great selection of Trade stands and Food Traders to keep you nourished while at the show.
Camping is available for the Friday and Saturday nights with the show closing at 5pm on the Sunday. Camping is a must, whether sleeping in your van or under canvas next to your VDub. We are a family focused club so we appreciate consideration when camp.
Tickets
Advance
Friday Night £10
Saturday Night £10
Both Nights £20
On The Gate
Friday Night £15
Saturday Night £15
Both Nights £15
Day Entry £5
Local Bands playing at Alive and VDubbin include: The Angry Beavers, The Colorblind Hedgehogs, Finger Kuffs, Rockface, Aworld Apart and The Rising. See website for full listings and MySpace profiles of the bands.
Kids Activities
As a family friendly VW club, we have entertaining the kids high up the priorities for our shows. This year is no exception with plenty of events planned to keep Mini VDubbers happy. We have Drumming and In a Spin bothhave children friendly workshops running throughout the weekend. Also Flaming Melons it's cleaner than it sounds its Hoola hoop dancing with FIRE.
We also have, Skate Ramp and Spider Mountain, Box Model VW's (back by popular demand), A Recycled Mural (A Crazy Mural made from recycled paper, fabric etc with everyone adding a bit) Making Badges and Fridge Magnets (because everyone need a VDubbin badge), Scavenger Hunt (to run off a bit of excess energy) , Large Camper Van Chalk Board (A Giant Camper Van)
Please visit http://www.aliveandvdubbin.co.uk for full details of this great event!
Come and visit Nomad Living and their fleet of 1970s VW campers at the Alive & V-Dubbin Festival this year on 12-13 June! Please click on Nomad Living's link for more information.
Aldeburgh Festival - 11th - 27th June 2010
SIXTY-THIRD ALDEBURGH FESTIVAL OF MUSIC AND THE ARTS
This year's festival promises to be an amazing experience, as ever. Please continue reading to to learn of the festival performance programme, and how to book tickets.
Pierre-Laurent Aimard Artistic Director (pictured above)
John Woolrich Associate Artistic Director
For FULL DETAILS of all performances, and to BOOK YOUR TICKETS, please see Aldeburgh Music.
20% ticket discount
This year’s Aldeburgh Festival offers an exciting choice of musical discoveries –
and we invite you to explore as many of them as possible! Please look out for this: and take advantage of our Magical Discovery Tour. Combine a minimum of 5 events from the offering, and qualify for a 20% discount on ticket prices.
For some background information to this historic music festival please also see Aldeburgh Festival.
For further information on this great town, please see
Guide to Aldeburgh
Accommodation in Aldeburgh
Hotels in Aldeburgh
Attractions in Aldeburgh
Eaing Out in Aldeburgh
The Debenham Arts Festival 2010 - 18th – 27th June
Highlights of the Debenham Arts Festival this year will include the traditional Art Exhibition in the Church and the Street Fair as well as a range of arts events appealing to a wide audience.
For more information please see Debenham Arts Festival 2010
For festival accommodation, please see Rose Cottage, Debenham
Framlingham Arts Festival - 25 June to 4 July
Friday 25 June to Sunday 4 July
The programme offers a wide range of events including exhibitions, music, talks, theatre and practical workshops.
Exhibitions: The Walking Art Gallery displaying work by students from local schools may be found in shop and office windows throughout the town centre. Framlingham Art Society’s 29th Annual Exhibition and Sale. Open Photographic Exhibition where many of the exhibits are also for sale.
Talks: Dame Margaret Drabble CBE opens the festival with a talk about her latest book “The Pattern in the Carpet. “Hidden Treasures of Framlingham” will take you on a walk round the town exploring secret pieces of history that you wouldn’t see every day. John Sheeran’s illustrated talk “Summer Impressions” promises to be a visual feast exploring his favourite French impressionist paintings.
Film:“The Horseman’s Tale” celebrates the Suffolk Punch which is now rarer than the Giant Panda.
Music: William Saunders gives an hour long concert on the renowned Thamar organ in St Michael’s Church, with a video link giving a close up picture of what is happening in the organ loft. Well known classics make this programme particularly suitable for families with children. The Hurd perform their unique music which ranges from the sweetly tender to the positively raucous on a selection of instruments including hurdy gurdies, recorder, guitar, mandolin, bassoon and soprano sax, making them an emergent voice on the folk scene. Wenhaston Girls Choir’s repertoire includes contemporary pop, classical and religious via folk and world music, musical theatre and original compositions, under the musical direction of Rob Goodrich. “Taboo-Be-Do!” delves into the shadier corners of jazz, bluegrass, blues, cabaret and pop, offering a heerful celebration of the outrageous, the ill considered and the downright inappropriate; an eye opening, foot tapping journey through 100 years of politically incorrect music with the guitar duo “Something Happened”. Phoenix Singers perform Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle with soloists Stephanie Corley (Soprano), Sarah-Jane Lewis (Alto), Peter Kirk (Tenor) and John Llewelyn Evans (Bass), accompanied by Chistine Whiffen (Harmonium) and John Stafford (Piano). Conducted by Edmond Fivet. The Sole Bay Jazz Band perform in the Rectory Garden at lunchtime on 4 July, so bring a picnic lunch and enjoy great jazz in a beautiful garden adjoining the Mere.
Practical Workshops: Pen and Ink Drawing Workshop, Button Necklace Workshop and an ArtWorkshop. “Fram Sings!” invites everyone to come and create a wonderful sound at an easy singing session led by Helen Rolfe – no experience necessary, all ages and abilities welcome.
Theatre: Circle 67 Players’ Shorter Shakespeare version of “Othello” in the lovely garden of Moat House.
Headline Event: Hatstand Opera’s “A Laugh at the Opera” – a rib-tickling romp through everyone’s comic opera favourites, featuring hilarious hairdressers, subversive servants, duplicate lovers and amorous aristocracy. Opera has never been so much fun!
“Tea on the Lawn” at the Rectory and “Open Gardens” organised by Friends of St Michael’s, Punch & Judy at Framlingham Library and a visit by the East Suffolk Morris Men complete the line up.
Full details and downloadable booking form at www.artsframlingham.org.uk or call 01728 723028 for further information.
Please click here for a list of all Services in Framlingham
The Ip-Art Festival 26 June – 11 July 2010
For full details of this great festival please see Ip-Art Festival
Please also see:
Guide to Ipswich
Ipswich Attractions
A Guide to Ipswich Hotels
Accommodation in and around Ipswich
Eating out in Ipswich
Pubs in Ipswich
The 14th Stowmarket Festival of Beer and Brewing 1st-4th July
The Museum of East Anglian Life, in association with CAMRA – the Campaign for Real Ale – kicks off its 14th Beer Festival on Thursday 1st July.
The event is perhaps the Museums most celebrated annual event.
Visitors will have the chance to sample up to 60 East Anglian real ales and a number of ciders, plus be entertained by LIVE MUSIC!
Please click on the Museum of East Anglian Life's link above for full details, including times, list of acts performing and tickets.
For more local information please see:
Attractions in Stowmarket
Shopping in Stowmarket
Maverick Festival - 2nd, 3rd & 4th July 2010
RETURN OF THE MAVERICK FESTIVAL TO EASTON FARM PARK WEEKEND OF JULY 4th!
Just featured in the Telegraph and the Guardian as one of the great small festivals in England!
The Maverick Festival, a celebration of American Roots music, at Easton Farm Park for the July 2, 3 and 4th weekend. Fantastic music, great local food, real ale and the idyllic setting of the Farm Park make for a ”boutique” Festival experience, without big crowds, hassle, and expense.
Easton Farm Park’s historic Victorian farm buildings provide unique settings for four stages, featuring American roots music in its myriad forms. Guitars, fiddles, banjos and harmonies, goats, chickens and ponies… it’s country life at it’s best.
The event runs over three days, commencing on Friday night, continues on Saturday with a full programme of musical performances, film & workshops across four stages indoors and out, and finishes on Sunday with a traditional Gospel brunch.
Full details available on the website: www.maverickfestival.co.uk
For further information on Woodbridge, please see Guide to Woodbridge
Accommodation in Woodbridge
Eating Out in Woodbridge
Debenham Country Music Festival - 14th-19th July 2010
THE 22ND DEBENHAM COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL
JULY 14th TO JULY 19th 2010
HELD AT THE DEBENHAM LEISURE CENTRE, DEBENHAM, SUFFOLK, IP14 6BL
ALL PROCEEDS TO THE DEBENHAM LEISURE CENTRE CHARITY TRUST
DONT MISS OUT ON THIS SUPER FESTIVAL BOOK NOW AND AVOID DISAPOINIMENT
Thursday night 7.30pm dance with the fabulous award winning Welsh duo
COUNTRY COMPANY
Friday night 7.30pm dance to the great CLEAR CUT
Saturday afternoon from 12 noon with three great acts BONNIE DIAMOND & COE, PAT JAMES, AMERICAN ROUTS
Saturday night, 7.30pm a super night with two of England's top acts
Norfolk's award winning JEFF GALANT BAND & Kent's singing sensation ROSIE HORNE
Sunday afternoon from 12 noon with three more great acts NASHVILLE NUMBERS BAND and from Buckinghamshire RANCHER COUNTRY DUO
and Suffolk's very own master of country MR KEVIN BARRY
And at 7.30pm to finish off a fabulous weekend the Award winning
DOUBLE BARREL
A GREAT LINE UP. ADD THAT TO TWO DANCE FLOORS, SHOWERS
MAINS TOILETS, TRADE STALLS, FOOD, AND A GREAT ATMOSPHERE,
CREDIT CRUNCHING PRICES FOR THIS 5 DAY EVENT
FESTWAL FULL WEEKEND TICKET IS JUST £26
DAY PRICES ARE THURSDAY, FRIDAY & SUNDAY NIGHTS £4 EACH
SATURDAY & SUNDAY AFTERNOONS £6 EACH & SATURDAY NIGHT £7
OPEN AIR CONCERTS SATURDAY & SUNDAY AFTERNOONS WEATHER PERMITTING
MORE INFORMATION or Booking Form RING:- ED CUFFE ON 01473 405 672 or email: e.cuffe@hotmail.co.uk
"Only the best in country music"
YOU ARE WELCOME TO COME JUST FOR THE DAY!
For festival accommodation, please see Rose Cottage, Debenham
Hachfest 2010 - Friday 30th July - Sunday 1st August
Showcasing local musicians and raising money for local charities. Activities for all the family.
3-day music festival at Mutimers' Meadow, Hacheston, Woodbridge, Suffolk, IP13 0DR.
Hachfest 2010 is nearly here!
This year’s 3 day music festival is almost upon us – kicking off on 30th July to 1st August, at Mutimers' Meadow in the village of Hacheston, near Wickham Market (IP13 0DR). Gates open on Friday evening at 5:30pm and the event continues all day on Saturday and Sunday, providing a great weekend of entertainment for all the family.
One of the highlights planned for the 2010 event is the BBC Introducing sessions. The team from BBC Radio Suffolk will be taking over the Hachfest stages on the Saturday afternoon, and have been given free reign to showcase the best acts from the BBC Introducing selection! BBC Introducing supports unsigned, undiscovered and under the radar musicians. Some of the acts appearing include Umbrella Assassins, JG Harding, Voodoo Browne and The Great Shakes.
Headline acts confirmed for 2010 include 80’s ska sensation - The Beat; Brigade – a rock band tipped for the top by both NME and Kerrang; art-rock musicians – Audioporn; Radio 1 favourite - Gideon Conn and Buddy Holly tribute show - Rave On. Alongside these names there will also be some fantastic local artists to suit everyone’s taste, including Whiskey Chaser, Matt While and The Emulsions, Walkway, Brewer Street Kazoo Band, Crumbs For Comfort and Popes of Chillitown.
As well as the music, there will be plenty to do off-stage for all the family, including various activities & many stalls. Food & refreshments are provided on site all weekend.
Tickets are now on sale from local outlets, including Ipswich Tourist Information centre & Teapot Tearoom in Wickham Market, as well as online at www.hachfest.co.uk. Check out the website or the posters for more information.
Each year money raised across the Hachfest weekend is donated to charity. The main charities to benefit from Hachfest 2010 will be East Anglian Air Ambulance, St Elizabeth Hospice, Childhood Eye Cancer Trust and Help For Heroes.
Hachfest could not happen without the support and help of local volunteers, so if you’d like to get involved please visit www.hachfest.co.uk or contact faye@hachfest.co.uk.
Over £6000 from Hachfest 2009 presented to local charities.
ACTS
The Beat
Hachfest are pleased to be welcoming one of the UK’s most popular and influential Ska Bands ‘The Beat’, who will be headlining the 2010 Saturday Line-up.
The Beat became an overnight success in the 80’s scoring such hits as ‘Tears of a Clown, Mirror in the Bathroom, Hands off she’s Mine, Too nice to talk to, Save it for Later and a soulful cover of the Andy Williams song ‘Can’t Get Used to Losing You’!
The band toured the world with artistes such as David Bowie, The Police, REM, The Clash and The Specials.
The current band line up includes original members Ranking Roger and Everett Morton, plus ex. Dexys Midnight Runners and General Public Keyboard player Mickey Billingham and also features Roger’s Son Murphy ‘Ranking’ Jr.
Gideon Conn
This exciting young Mancunian musician may well be familiar to anyone that went along to ‘Harvest at Jimmy’s’ last year – he certainly struck a chord with Hachfest committee members, who are very pleased that he has agreed to appear at Hachfest this year!
Gideon Conn’s shows are breath-taking from start to finish. With a cheeky smile he makes the audience jump for joy, sigh with delight then leave asking what they have just seen and when can I hear it again? He has performed, with his band, at major festivals and toured with some fantastic artists including Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip, 6 Day Riot and Jason Mraz. He released a catchy, hip hop/indie crossover single called ‘I Want You Around’ which was well received by radio - playlisted on Xfm and awarded breakfast single of the week on BBC 6 music as well being championed by Huw Stevens and Rob da Bank on Radio 1. Gideon’s debut album entitled ‘New Bop Sounds’, is due for release in March 2010. The first single from the album is called ‘Londonderry’, and was released in December 2009. It is a beautiful song, memorable for its unabashed simplicity and ability to capture your heart and mind.
You can catch Gideon as part of the Hachfest Saturday line-up!
Audioporn
London based Audioporn are no strangers to these parts – boasting a strong and loyal following in Suffolk for their ‘Art Rock’ style of music.
If you’ve not seen this band before then you’re in for a real treat! They were once described in the press as ‘a cross between Frank Zappa and the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band’! Extremely unusual and totally original – guaranteed to entertain!
Thank you once again for the continued support, it is hoped that 2010 will be the best year yet!
Keep an eye on www.hachfest.co.uk for full details of the event.
Westleton Wild Flower Festival and Village Life Exhibition - Friday 30th July - Monday 2nd August
WESTLETON WILD FLOWER FESTIVAL AND VILLAGE LIFE EXHIBITION
Friday July 30th to Monday August 2nd, 10 am to 6pm each day (5 pm Monday)
Westleton Village and its Church work together every year to hold its long running and celebrated Wildflower Festival in St Peters Church Westleton combined with the Village Life Exhibition in Westleton Village Hall. This year the events will be held from Friday July 30th to Monday August 2nd, open from 10 am to 6 pm on Friday to Sunday and 10 am to 5pm on Monday, and admission is free.
The theme of this year’s wildflower festival is ‘The Power of Nature’ featuring a floral display of local wildflowers depicting a range of natural events from the drama of ‘Earthquake’ to the tranquillity of ‘Sunset’.
This year’s exhibition in the Village Hall features seventeen local groups and bodies that all interact with village life, and these include, as examples, the Art Group, Quilters, Family History Group, Village archives, RSPB, The Forestry Commission and bee keeping.
There will also be different demonstrators showing skills each day. On Friday Lorna Turner will be showing Yarn Crafts, including spinning and weaving, and the demonstrator on Saturday will be Sue Foster. On Sunday Chrissie Davies will be showing two unusual skills, producing sculpture from recycled glass and jewellery from inner tubes, and Irene Stocks will be showing decorative boxes. On Monday the internationally known potter Glynn Hugo will be demonstrating the potter’s skills.
Refreshments will be on sale each day. Afternoon tea will be available at the Vicarage on Sunday. Come and meet Westleton, and see this unique flower festival and village exhibition for yourself.
Chris Miller will present a talk ‘Suffolk Punch Horses and the Colony Stud of the Suffolk Punch Trust’ in the Church at 7.00 pm on Saturday July 31st. Ticket prices Adults (with wine) £7.00, children (under 16) £4.00, or family ticket £20.00, available from the Village Stores or The White Horse Inn, plus a few on the door on the night.
Contact for further interest is John Bebbington, phone 01728 648943,
e-mail to john@bebbington2.orangehome.co.uk
Lowestoft Seafront Air Festival 2010 - Thursday August 12th and Friday August 13th
World champion set to thrill airshow crowds
Reigning Red Bull Air Race world champion Paul Bonhomme is set to thrill spectators at next month’s Lowestoft Seafront Air Festival.
When he is not competing in the high-octane Red Bull air races – or flying a Boeing 747 in his main job for British Airways – Paul is one half of an aerobatic duo known as the Red Bull Matadors.
With his partner, Steve Jones – another Boeing 747 pilot and a former British aerobatics champion – the Matadors perform spectacular aerobatics at airshows in many parts of the world.
Flying their Russian-built Sukhoi Su-26 aircraft, the dynamic duo have performed all over the UK and Europe and have toured China, Japan and the Middle East in the FAI World Grand Prix series – an aerobatic competition with solo and formation categories.
It will be their first visit to Lowestoft Seafront Air Festival where they are due to display their skills on both days, Thursday August 12 and Friday August 13.
The Red Bull Matadors will be part of a spectacular flying programme of over four and a half hours on both days.
The varied line-up includes the world-famous RAF aerobatic team, the Red Arrows – with the first female pilot to join this elite team - and the world’s only flying V-bomber, the Avro Vulcan XH558 which this year is celebrating its 50th birthday.
Other firsts for the 14th Lowestoft Air Festival include the Aerostars, flying six aircraft in exciting formation aerobatics, and the largest single-engine biplane ever produced, the Russian-built Antonov AN-2.
The 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain is being marked with four aircraft from the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight – the Lancaster, Spitfire, Hurricane and Dakota – and another famous aircraft which flew over the beaches on D-Day, the solo Grace Spitfire, flown by the world’s only female Spitfire pilot.
Other aircraft on the packed programme include the world’s only formation wing walking display team, an Alpha Jet from the French Air Force and a Sikorsky Pave Hawk helicopter from the United States Air Force.
Admission to this popular family day out remains free but voluntary donations of £2 per person will again be invited to help meet the £300,000 cost of the event and ensure its future.
To join the Friends of the Air Festival and keep up to date with all the latest news of this year’s big event log on to the website via Lowestoft Air Festival.
FACTFILE: Since 2004 the Air Festival has been organised by an independent and voluntary support group who formed a charitable not-for-profit company, Lowestoft Seafront Air Festival Ltd, working in partnership with Waveney District Council and local charities.
The region’s biggest event last year was attended by an estimated 425,000 spectators and the charity groups who helped at the event received a total of just over £28,000 in commission. This brought the total commission paid by the Air Festival company to local charity groups over a five-year period to more than £118,000.
MAKE A WEEKEND OF IT IN LOWESTOFT!
Click here for Accommodation in Lowestoft
Things to Do in Lowestoft
Take advantage of the great beaches in Lowestoft, and other Suffolk Beaches
Halesworth Gig in the Park 6-8th August 2010
For full details of this wonderful festival please see Halesworth Gig in the Park
For more information on Halesworth please see:
A Guide to the town of Halesworth
Accommodation in Halesworth
Yoxford Arts Festival - August 19th-22nd
Thursday 19th August - BY POPULAR REQUEST “CUBAN LIFT” return with their dance music from the Andes.
Tony Hinnigan guitar & charango; Catherine Musker bass; Anna Noakes & Julie Murray flutes and pan pipes & Gary Kettel Latin percussion.
The Nigel Hitchcock Quartet with Mark Nightingale - Friday 20th August
The amazing jazz saxophonist Nigel Hitchcock, has performed to millions of people around the world with artists such as Tom Jones, Wet Wet Wet, Ray Charles and Robbie Williams. At Yoxford he leads a star studded band featuring the brilliant trombonist Mark Nightingale
Mark has been featured with artists as diverse as Frank Sinatra, Cleo Laine, London Brass, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sting and Shakatak. He has penned many compositions, big band arrangements and books of trombone studies.
John Tams & Barry Coope - Saturday 21st August 2010
John Tams described by Mojo as'one of the ultimate British songwriters',had a career spanning four decades in every medium.
A member of the Albion Band and Home Service he is perhaps best known for his work at the National Theatre and as Rifleman Daniel Hagman in the Sharpe television series. He is a five times winner of the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.
He has made over 50 albums as singer, musician or producer and continues to tour festivals and concert stages throughout the UK and Europe. He co-wrote the score for all the Sharpe films alongside Dominic Muldowney and has been a long standing collaborator with Jack Shepherd on numerous productions for stage, screen and radio. Last year John received an Honorary Doctorate from Sheffield Hallam University.
In the early 1980s, Barry Coope was a member of innovative English folk band Muckram Wakes. Later he played with the folk “supergroup” Blue Murder. Around 1990 Barry Coope helped form Coope, Boyes & Simpson, a British vocal folk trio.
Return of Pamela Thorby - Sunday 22nd August
Last year “Pamela Thorby, Elizabeth Kenny and Susanne Heinrich gave what was regarded by many as the finest concert in six festivals”
Pamela, one of the world’s finest recorder players, returns this year to play Vivaldi’s Concerto for Sopranino Recorder in C Major RV443 and Telemann’s Concerto for flute, recorder, strings and continuo in E minor with The Locrian Ensemble.
Bringing together some of the most prominent string soloists in London, THE LOCRIAN ENSEMBLE has established an enviable reputation for its recordings, broadcasts and live performances. This outstanding concert features Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, soloist Rita Manning, violin and also the world premiere of a work for flute and strings by Elgar Howarth with soloist Anna Noakes, flute.
The concert also features a contemporary work for recorder and percussion with Gary Kettel.
For more information on the Yoxford Arts Festival 2010, please see www.yoxfest.co.uk.
Please click on the following link for other venues and attractions in Yoxford.
Southwold Comedy Festival 27th-29th August
Venue: Southwold Common, Godyll Road, Southwold, Suffolk, IP18 6AJ
Doors open 6pm – Comedy starts 7.45pm until 10.30pm every day
Following on from the success of the Norwich Comedy Festival, which is now in it’s 5th year, and last year’s 1st Southwold Comedy Festival, Adnams and Red Card Comedy are delighted to bring you a second year of comedic delights from stars such as John Mann, Rich Wilson, Geoff Boyz, Sean Meo and many more. The event promises laughter, good food, beer and wine all hosted in an atmospheric ‘Big Top’.
Doors open at 6pm when you will be invited to sit and relax with good food, a selection of Adnams beers and wines, and soak up what we hope will be August sunshine, with views over the common to the sea. The perfect start to what we are sure will be a fun filled evening.
Admission Fee: £13.50
Red Card Comedy Booking Office - 0844 826 1902
Website: www.redcardcomedyclub.com
Email: info@redcardcomedyclub.com
For more information on the lovely town of Southwold please see -
A Guide to the town of Southwold
Accommodation in Southwold
Eating Out in Southwold
Attractions in Southwold
Shopping in Southwold
Suffolk Villages Festival 27th-30th August
The Suffolk Villages Festival
J S Bach and his World: 27-30 August 2010
Artistic Director: Peter Holman
What may well be the first-ever British performance of a St Matthew Passion by Carl Philip Emmanuel Bach, the eldest son of J.S. Bach, will be a highlight of this year’s Suffolk Villages Festival. The annual festival takes place over the August Bank Holiday weekend in a quartet of south Suffolk’s most beautiful churches.
For many years, the younger Bach’s version of the Passion was believed lost. It vanished from a Berlin library at the end of the last war – apparently looted by Soviet soldiers – and was rediscovered by accident in a storeroom at the Ukraine State Archives in Kiev only a decade ago.
First performed in 1769, C.P.E. Bach’s St Matthew Passion follows the example of his more famous father’s setting of the same Gospel and even quotes from it. However, whereas Johann Sebastian’s music was rooted in the late Baroque idiom, Carl Philip Emmanuel’s anticipates the classical styles of Haydn and Mozart.
The young Bach’s work emphasises the humanity of Christ as well as the drama of his betrayal and death. The orchestra includes horns, with timpani thundering out the earthquake that follows Christ’s death on the Cross.
Peter Holman, the festival’s director, conducts the Passion, with the part of Jesus sung by bass-baritone Stephen Varcoe, who also gives a recital of 19th-century German song accompanied by guitar.
J.S. Bach and his World is the theme of this year’s festival, which includes sacred cantatas by the elder Bach and music written for the Dresden court orchestra by his contemporaries, including Telemann and Vivaldi.
The Bank Holiday programme also includes an evening of music performed at the court of Frederick the Great, including works by J.S. Bach, C.P.E. Bach and Frederick the Great himself. Frederick, generally acknowledged to have been a military genius, was also an accomplished flautist. He befriended Voltaire and knew both leading members of the Bach family.
In addition to Peter Holman, this year’s concerts are directed by the distinguished young harpsichordist Steven Devine, who will shortly record the elder Bach’s Goldberg Variations for the Chandos label.
Friday 27 August, 8pm
St Mary’s Church, Stoke by Nayland
J S Bach in Weimar, 1714: Cantatas nos. 12, 18, 54, 199
soloists, Psalmody, The Parley of Instruments
directed by Peter Holman
Saturday 28 August, 12 midday
St James’s Church, Nayland
German Sixteenth-Century Song
John Potter (tenor)
Alison Crum, Roy Marks and Andrew Kerr (early Renaissance viols)
Saturday 28 August, 7.30pm
St Mary’s Church, Stoke by Nayland
Music for the Dresden Court Orchestra
by Vivaldi, Telemann, Hasse, Pisendel and others
Huw Daniel (violin), Philippa Hyde (soprano)
Essex Baroque Orchestra
directed by Steven Devine
Sunday 29 August, 7.30pm
St Mary’s Church, Stoke by Nayland
Music at the Court of Frederick the Great
by J.S. Bach, C.P.E. Bach, Quantz, & Frederick the Great
Jack Edwards (reader), Rachel Latham (flute), Tassilo Erhardt (violin),
Mark Caudle (viola da gamba & violoncello), Steven Devine (harpsichord)
pre-concert talk by Professor Anthony King
Monday 30 August, 12 midday
St Mary’s Church, Boxford
German Nineteenth-Century Song
Stephen Varcoe (baritone), David Miller (guitar)
Monday 30 August, 7.30pm
St Mary’s Church, Hadleigh
soloists, Psalmody, Essex Baroque Orchestra
directed by Peter Holman
C P E Bach: St Matthew Passion (1769)
first British performance
Box office & further information:
01206 366603
box@suffolkvillagesfestival.com
Harvest at Jimmy's Farm - 11th-12th September 2010
Harvest is back; brighter, fresher and tastier than ever - on 11th and 12th September at Jimmy's Farm, Ipswich.
We are delighted to announce THE ZUTONS and NEWTON FAULKNER as well as an abundance of other bands and chefs, including Angela Hartnett, Hairy Bikers, Rachel Allen, Mark Hix, Tom Parker Bowles and Thomasina Miers.
Also a UK festival exclusive from the award winning CHARLIE & LOLA's Best Bestest Play.
Please check our website www.harvestatjimmys.com for lots more fantastic appearances and activities.
See you all in September!
Fressingfield Music Festival - 21-25 September 2010
THE COUNTRYSIDE’S PRESTIGIOUS MUSIC FESTIVAL
The Fressingfield Music Festival returns for its sixth year having established a reputation as one of the best small music festivals in the country.
Stars of the classical and jazz world will perform over five nights from 21 to 25 September at the parish church of St Peter and St Paul, Fressingfield, north Suffolk. Music lovers from Suffolk, Norfolk and beyond are again expected to flock to this intimate venue to see world class musicians. These include renowned violin virtuoso Tasmin Little (21 September), emerging superstar pianist Cordelia Williams (22 September) and legendary jazz vocalist Elaine Delmar (24 September).
Tuesday 21 September
Tasmin Little, the world renowned violinist, opens the festival. Winner of 2008 Classic FM Gramophone Award and noted for being a highly innovative artist, she was featured on the prestigious South Bank Show which followed her groundbreaking project The Naked Violin. She is accompanied by John Lenehan on piano in a programme that includes music by Kreiser, Bach, Mozart, Grieg, Tchaikovsky and Bartok.
Wednesday 22 September
Pianist Cordelia Williams is a rising star in the world of classical music and is this year’s recipient of the Fresssingfield Young Musician Award. Known for her work with contemporary composers, in this recital she will play music by Mozart, Chopin, Beethoven, Ravel and Carroll.
Thursday 23 September
The Choir of Christ’s College, Cambridge will make a welcome return to the Festival with an abridged performance of Handel’s Messiah. The choir is acclaimed as one of Cambridge’s finest mixed ensembles and has established an enviable reputation through worldwide touring, recording and broadcasting
Friday 24 September
Legendary vocalist Elaine Delmar is accompanied by The Brian Dee Trio for a Friday evening of jazz hits taken from the Great American Song Book. Elaine Delmar is accustomed to singing with some of the best big bands and orchestras in the world. For this concert she teams up with highly acclaimed jazz pianist Brian Dee who has performed with stars such as Miles Davis, Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Chet Baker and Elton John, to name but a few.
Saturday 25 September
Fêted baroque ensemble Badinage, known for their critically acclaimed recordings and their countless performances at the South Bank Centre, closes the festival with an evening of cantatas and concertos by Bach, Handel and Vivaldi. They are joined by distinguished counter-tenor David Sheppard.
All concerts will commence at 7.30pm. Tickets can be booked in advance for £12 or at £15 on the door, subject to availability. Tickets for Tuesday’s concert (21 September) cost £15 in advance or £17 at the door. Available by phone 01379 586459 and from mid-August at Fressingfield Stores.
For more local information please see:
A Guide to Eye
Accommodation in Eye
Eating Out in Eye
A Guide to Halesworth
Accommodation in Halesworth
Accommodation in Framlingham
Attractions in Framlingham
The 5th Hundon Plough Beer Festival - 23rd to 26th September
The Plough Inn, Hundon is open all day everyday throughout the festival and serving great food all day!
All welcome, with children until 9pm
FREE 4 pint, recyclable take-home jugs when you buy 4 pints of ale
16+ real ales plus ciders and perry
Theme - "YOUR CHOICE"; the ales featured have been voted for and chosen by our lovely ale drinking customers.
Brewers featured include Suffolk's own Old Cannon, Mill Green and Adnams plus brews from Jennings, Shepherd Neame, Timothy Taylor, St Austell, Sharp's, Cotleigh and many, many more.
Free live music on Friday night at 8.30pm from THE SMOKIN' HOGS, Saturday night from JURASSIC ROCK and Sunday evening from THE HARVS (as seen at the CAMRA Norwich Beer Festival)
Aldeburgh Food and Drink Festival - 25th-26th September 2010
Taking place at Snape Maltings on 25th and 26th September, the festival will once again showcase the cream of Suffolk’s food and drink producers. Other highlights include cooking demonstrations from celebrity chefs, fun food-related activities, workshops, boat trips, RSPB-guided walks and more.
For full details please see Aldeburgh Food and Drink Festival 2010
For further information on this lovely town, please see
Guide to Aldeburgh
Accommodation in Aldeburgh
Hotels in Aldeburgh
Attractions in Aldeburgh
Aldeburgh Food and Drink Fringe Festival - 25th September - 9th October 2010
The Aldeburgh Food and Drink Fringe Festival takes place in the days following the main weekend event of the Aldeburgh Food & Drink Festival and features fringe events throughout East Suffolk on farms, in the countryside, beaches, market towns and villages. These include workshops, behind the scene tours of producers, progressive dinners and specially created menus at supporting restaurants and eateries, family activities, farm visits, guided walks and special cookery demonstrations. Something for everyone!
Please see Aldeburgh Food and Drink Fringe Festival for more information.
For further information on this lovely town, please see
Guide to Aldeburgh
Accommodation in Aldeburgh
Hotels in Aldeburgh
Attractions in Aldeburgh
Halesworth Arts Festival - 9th-24th October 2010
All events take place at The Cut Arts Centre, Halesworth, IP19 8BY
Sat 9th Oct 7:30 PM
MusicDame Evelyn Glennie
The 2010 Festival opens with one of this country's greatest musicians in a unique solo performance.
Tickets: Standard £25.00
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Sun 10th Oct 7:30 PM
MusicHumphrey Lyttelton Band
with special guest vocalist TINA MAY, the Band celebrate Humph and his music
Tickets: Standard £16.50
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Mon 11th Oct 7:30 PM
FilmAn Audience with Barry Norman
The face of cinema on the BBC for 26 years reveals all
Tickets: Standard £14.50
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Tue 12th Oct 7:30 PM
ComedyArthur Smith at Large
One of Britain's best loved comedians with a unique slant on life
Tickets: Standard £16.50
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Wed 13th Oct 7:30 PM
LectureMark Carwardine: Last Chance to See
An illustrated talk by the zoologist, author and broadcaster, based around his TV series with Stephen Fry: LAST CHANCE TO SEE
Tickets: Standard £12.50
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Thu 14th Oct 7:30 PM
MusicThe Stanford Quartet
Four engaging and talented girls play works by HAYDN, WALTON & JONATHAN DOVE
Tickets: Standard £14.50
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Fri 15th Oct 7:30 PM
ComedyJohn Hegley: The Adventures of Monsieur Robinet
Britain's most innovative comic poet regales us with tales about a Frenchman with some unusual (but clean) habits
Tickets: Standard £14.50
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Sat 16th Oct 10:30 AM
LectureFranck Pontais: Cookery Masterclass
Franck's back! The only French Chef with a Suffolk accent demonstrates more tempting dishes
Tickets: Standard £7.50
TICKETS
You can book online and find details on other booking methods at: www.halesworthartsfestival.org.uk
Or by calling 01986 874264 anytime after 1st September
Multiple Ticket Offer!
Book for any 3 Festival events and get a 20% reduction of the total ticket cost - please see the Halesworth ArtsFestival website for more information.
For more information on Halesworth please see:
A Guide to the town of Halesworth
Accommodation in Halesworth
22nd Aldeburgh Poetry Festival - 5th-7th November 2010
‘Aldeburgh International Poetry Festival listed as one of the best British literary festivals this autumn by Country Life’
For information on this festival please see Aldeburgh Poetry Festival 2010.
To prepare you for your visit to Aldeburgh please see:
Aldeburgh Town Guide
Restaurants in Aldeburgh Guide
Accommodation in Aldeburgh Guide
If you want your festival to be included here please email the details to suffolkguides.admin@suffolktouristguide.com
