Sounds and smithies at the Stade

Stade Saturdays and ROOT 1066 present Blacksmiths on the Beach at the Stade Open Space in Hastings. The British Artist Blacksmiths’ Association (BABA) visits Hastings with three days of blacksmithing demonstrations and workshops. Report from Michael Hambridge, Hastings Borough Council’s arts and cultural development officer.

At BABA‘s annual gathering, blacksmith artists from all over the country will be setting up their forges in Hastings to give demonstrations of traditional blacksmithing skills. The visual thrill of seeing craftspeople shaping hot iron, the smell of coke fires and the noise of hammers on anvils combine to produce terrific theatre.

There will also be forging workshops for young adults up until the age of 25, and a fully safe children’s forge – so come along and see if blacksmithing is the thing for you!

Hastings-based sculptor Leigh Dyer, in collaboration with BABA, will be forging a new piece of public art as part of the ROOT1066 International Festival. The parts will then be taken away and formed into the finished work, which will be unveiled on Saturday 10 September, on the seafront by Alfred Place.

The sculpture, which will rise like the prow of a Norman longboat out of the shingle, incorporates a time capsule of letters from local residents to friends, family and the community, to be opened in 2066 on the 1000th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings.

Food and refreshments will also be on sale.

Blacksmiths on the Beach: Friday 8 July, 12 noon-6pm, Saturday 9 July 9am-7pm and Sunday 10 July 9am-4pm.

As part of Blacksmiths on the Beach and Stade Saturdays the following performances will also take place on the Stade this weekend:

FOLK DANCE REMIXED

Folk Dance Remixed is a collision of traditional and Hip Hop dance and music: high-energy, with a unique remix of Maypole, Clogging, Ceilidh, Street, House and Breakdance with a hint of African and Bollywood to a live soundtrack of fiddle and beat boxing – this is Folk and Street Dance like you’ve never seen it before!
After the performance, come prepared to take part in their bone-bending ceilidh jam – no previous dancing experience required, just the willingness to have a darned good time!

Folk Dance Remixed: Saturday at 6pm at the Stade Open Space

KING SIZE SLIM

Toby Barelli, aka King Size Slim, has honed a new sound, fully conscious of its blues and ska roots but with a fresh story to tell. Having toured and recorded with two-tone pioneers ‘The Selecter’ and other ska and reggae luminaries, Slim’s music is strongly rhythm-led and rootsy in melody.

Big warm tones from a resonator guitar and powerful vocals are the trademarks of his heavyweight acoustic sound. A renowned regular at venues such as the legendary 100 Club, Camden’s Jazz Cafe, Islington Union Chapel and Blues Kitchen and other national venues, he won critical acclaim for his studio album Milk Drunk in 2013, and a British Blues Award for ‘Emerging Artist’ in 2014.

King Size Slim: Saturday at 7.30 pm at the Stade Open Space

Stade Saturdays and other events at Stade Open Space off Rock-a-Nore Road, Hastings, TN34 3FJ.

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