Summer Trifle mini arts festival returns to Wilmington on August 12 and 13

The annual mini arts festival held in the rambling gardens of Pickhams in Wilmington is open from noon both days on the weekend.

Summer Trifle is a varied mix of delights including afternoon tea and cake in the gardens, art, open mic and live music.

Taking part this year will be fused glass artist Jazz the Alchemist, textile creator Lydia Dixon, resident artist Josie Tipler and Compass Community Arts from Eastbourne.

Arlington Village Pop-Up Museum and FoSPA (Friends of St Pancras Arlington) will be making and selling refreshments to raise funds and will have exhibits to browse throughout the weekend. Seffy and Ann, also known as 2/5 of The Cheer Up Mollys, will play a set to open the music on Saturday evening followed by Milton Hide, singer songwriter duo featuring guitar, vocals, percussion and clarinet.

Bluebell Roots, the popular Arlington monthly music night usually held in the Bluebell Farmhouse kitchen will take over the stage on Sunday evening with floor spots and featured guest musician, Chloe Levaillant.

Chloe is a French-British eclectic folk singer songwriter and multi-instrumental artist who will be coming to the festival direct from a gig in Paris the previous day.

There is the opportunity for others to take to the stage with music or spoken word on both afternoons at the Open Mic on the new outdoor stage area by the pond, home to a recycled metal fish sculpture.

“We know that things are difficult financially for many so we are making this an ‘entry by donation’ event so that everyone can pay what they can afford for a lovely afternoon or evening out. We are grateful to PPL and PRS who have supported us with a generous discount on our event licence ” says organiser Josie Tipler.

“We’re proud to have put together a great event for everyone to enjoy and have managed to keep overheads relatively low by scaling the festival down”. Summer Trifle is a not-for-profit group so all donations during the day will go to cover the event costs. Donations in the evening will go towards paying the guest musicians."

It is advisable to book tickets for the evening music, especially for the Sunday night when there is the option of ordering a meal cooked by renowned Arlington cook, Philippa Vine.

There is the opportunity to get hands on with an Art Workshop on Sunday morning, “Be Free as a Bird”, a 2 hour session on freeing up your creativity with re-used and re-purposed materials - tickets for this must be booked in advance.

Although there is field parking on site, visitors are encouraged to leave the car at home and use the new shared use walking and cycle path along the A27 between Lewes and Polegate to access the festival or to look into the new Flexibus for a Saturday visit (in Zone 1).

Full details of everything going on at Summer Trifle, how to get there and ticket links are on the website Pickhams.com.