Local school children and community groups have been busy creating for this Saturday’s event.

Walking the Fish returns on Saturday 6 July!

This popular community event celebrating Hastings fishing heritage and our creative community spirit was created by local arts collective Radiator Arts back in 2002 and has been sorely missed in the festival calendar over recent years. This year the Radiator Arts is delighted to have been awarded funding to revive and renew the event – it’s a brilliant way to celebrate 20 years of community creating. Erica Smith wishes them a happy anniversary.

Thanks to generous funding and collaboration from an array of local organisations, participants of all ages and from many walks of life have been engaged in making fishy themed creations for the procession on Saturday 6 July. Lead artist Tash Cossey says, “I am beyond thrilled that we can bring back Walking The Fish, It has been so missed by the local community and we love bringing everyone together though creativity”.

The themes of the project are: Hastings Fishing Heritage; Belonging; Protecting Our Oceans; Global and Local Fish Species. Over 160 nursery and schoolchildren will have taken part in the project and learned about these themes during school workshops led by the artists.

The organisers are also partnering with RNLI for their 200th anniversary and will be hosting them at the Stade workshop where you can get involved in making a special 200-year banner. They will also be on the parade!

The project culminates in a grand parade starting at the Stade open space, processing along the path by the mini golf and turning around at the public toilets to head back to the Stade open space for the event from 2.45 till 4 pm. There will be music from the Joe Fleming Band, storytelling from Storie Storie, a unique performance of a collective poem created by participants and poet Grace Pilkington, free face-painting by happy face entertainment, circus skills, Radiator Arts ‘Lighthouse’ and local drumming group Sambalanco.

Groups involved in the festival include: Ark, Castledown, The Baird, Sacred Heart Primary schools; Hastings Fishermen Protection Society; Mr Hastings & St Leonards; RNLI; In2play; Hastings Community of Sanctuary and Hastings Contemporary.

Funding and support has come from Making It Happen, The Foreshore Trust and The Chalk Cliff Trust. This, together with matched funding by local schools and academies, plus an exciting commission from Mr Hastings & St Leonards, has enabled this event to grow.

It now includes two In2play preschools, three schools – Sacred Heart, Ark Castledown and The Baird – four free open workshops with partners Hastings Contemporary, Stade Hall & West Hill Community Centre, plus workshops with Hastings Fishermans Protection Society, Mr Hastings and St Leonards mens group, and the Hastings Sanctuary Festival.

You can find out more by following Radiator Arts Instagram and Facebook channels.

Also in: Community Arts