Battle Festival 2017 draws record numbers  

The fourth and biggest ever Battle Festival draws to a close, with thousands of people of all ages having enjoyed a programme of events spanning music, visual art, literature, film, poetry, comedy, food, and family entertainment. Hannah Collison writes.

 “Unique, fabulous, unmissable.” Audience member, The Winter Giant

Highlights included outdoor spectacle, The Winter Giant, the festival’s most ambitious event to date, which brought the community together and around 3,000 people out onto the streets of Battle. It also provided an opportunity for local businesses to stay open late with some reporting record sales.

Fans travelled from as far as Canada and South America to attend the Mt. Desolation show featuring Battle Festival patron, Tim Rice-Oxley and his Keane band mate, Jesse Quin.

The continuing relationship with the Primrose Piano Quartet, one of the UK’s leading chamber ensembles, saw them perform on four separate occasions including a concert with top British clarinettist Michael Collins, and a special family concert featuring accessible classical music on the theme of magic.

Visual arts came to the fore this year, thanks to a partnership with the blackShed gallery, which delivered a number of exhibitions and events including Martin Brockman as 2017 artist-in-residence, and a new series of work by renowned paper cut artist, Ian Penney.

Other partners this year included Applause Rural Touring, Glyndebourne’s education department, and Mrs Yarrington’s Music Club, which hosted the likes of flamenco jazz guitar legend, Eduardo Niebla.

“Truly inspirational.” Joseph Toonga, Just Us Dance Theatre

David Furness, Chairman of Battle Festival and Battle Mayor said: “Battle Festival is getting bigger and better every year, and we are now firmly on the South East’s cultural diary. We were really pleased that we were able to expand our visual arts offer and we hope to built ever stronger partnerships with the blackShed gallery. Tim Rice – Oxley our patron, Heringtons Solicitors and Littlewoods Fencing have given incredible support. Without them the Festival would not have happened. We are building relationships with other businesses in town who have a deep love of the 1066 country and want it to prosper not only as an historical but as a cultural destination. If you would like to help the Festival grow, please get in touch, you can help by being a friend or sponsoring an event.

“Lastly I would like to thank our hard working committee who have worked so hard but most of all I would like to thank all the people who have bought tickets and attended events. I do hope that you have enjoyed the Festival and look forward to seeing you again in 2018.’

www.battlefestival.co.uk

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Battle Festival 2017 was made possible thanks to funding from Arts Council England, Big Lottery Fund, Battle Town Council and Rother District Council, and the kind support of sponsors Littlewoods Fencing, Heringtons Solicitors, Southern Energy Solutions, CPJ Field, Pinot the Musical, Deryn Lake and Robert Gee. Huge suport for the festival also came from local businesses and other organisations, including Harper & Holland and Battle Baptist Church.

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