Where the festival meets the fringe!
Arts festivals bring significant benefits to local communities and many are well established annual events. Those nearest to East Surrey such as the festivals at Hurst, Guildford and London are well supported and long standing - but all are over 25 miles away from the small village of Bletchingley in East Surrey. Following a Fun Day organised at Grange Meadow back in August, in favour of a local charity, a number of the organisers came together to consider a follow up event that would embrace inclusivity and the arts to celebrate and promote the vibrant community centred around Bletchingley, in the district of Tandridge. The community is home to a broad and eclectic mix of arts with charities developing the creative skills of disabled people, a local Arts Hub. local schools, dance academies, community choirs, visual artists and venues with a lively and broad live music scene. A local arts festival can bring together those individuals and groups of performers and artists with and without disabilities, whether amateur, semi or full professional, from the areas in and around Bletchingley and provide an inclusive platform for them to display their diverse skills while giving access to visual and performing arts contributing to the well being of residents of East Surrey.
So the idea for BletchFest, where the festival meets the fringe, is born. The organisers include residents and representatives of local community groups, Sports associations, charities, parish council and schools and are happy to count Sir Richard Stilgoe and Dame Sarah Goad as Patrons of the festival. The core elements of comedy, dance, music and visual arts are being structured presently with some commitments already received. More details will be made clear as the events, which are planned to take place over a period extending from Spring to early July embracing the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations in June, are fully configured along with the multiple venues around Bletchingley, which will include the village hall and Grange Meadow.
The intention is for the festival to embrace all elements of the arts in the community and we are looking for anyone interested in participating in any arts based activity, whether as a performer, sponsor or helper, whether amateur or professional, able bodied or disabled to contact us and share their ideas with us as early as possible. Contact can be made by e-mail info.bletchfest@gmail.com come or via the enquiry form on the contacts page of our website at bletchfest,org. The website is a good resource for more information on the aims and objectives of the festival so please take the time to take a look. Help us make East Surrey’s Arts Festival the great success it can be and bring greater engagement with the arts adding to the wellbeing of the community!
To find out how to get involved in Bletchfest click here.