High Street Live kicks of Crawley Festival week

This year’s festival begins on with ‘Gatwick Airport High Street Live’, a free event from 2pm to 9.30pm showcasing local artists and groups in Crawley High Street.

The headline act is Strobe, with supporting acts including Faux Falls, Stop Press, Glowing Sun and Wednesday Night Project. As the name implies, the event is in High Street, and is sponsored by Gatwick Airport.

The ever-popular Silver Birch singers are performing at St John’s Church from 12.30pm on June 13. The free event has a French theme this year – Oh La La!

The celebrations continue next week with West Sussex Music holding their 50 year celebration concert from 7pm at the Hawth Thursday June 16. Tickets are available at the Hawth box office. Come along and listen to some of the county’s many talented young people.

‘Mainstage’, the closing event, is from 12.30pm to 5pm on June 18 in the Memorial Gardens. The free show includes art workshops, a DJ skills workshop, dance workshop, children’s play area, street theatre, craft, food and beer stalls and the ever-popular Cultural Kitchen - a chance to watch exotic foods being prepared, then try them.

At 7.30pm, the Weald Choir and the Concordia Singers will join for ‘War and Peace – A Choral Concert’ at the Hawth, marking 100 years since the Somme. There will be performances of ‘The Armed Man’ by Karl Jenkins and Haydn’s ‘Mass in a Time of War’. Tickets from the Hawth box office.

A statement from the organisers said: “Crawley Festival has as its motto – ‘For Crawley, By Crawley’ and this year’s programme of events is testimony to that saying.

“We are also pleased to have St Catherine’s Hospice as the charity we are supporting.”

For more information visit www.crawleyfestival.co.uk