Funding boost for inauguralmusic festival

This week it was confirmed that Arts Council England has awarded a funding grant worth £14,850 to the organisers of the festival, which is due to take place in October.

Liz Honey, who is one of the organisers of the festival, told the Observer: “The award follows a long and stringent application process and is a huge vote of confidence in the vision behind the bid to establish Battle as a must-visit cultural destination for lovers of the arts.

“The grant augments generous grants from regional and local bodies including 1066 Country Marketing, Battle Chamber of Commerce and Battle Town Council.”

As part of the build-up to the inaugural festival in October, The Battle Festival Sinfonia will follow up their extremely successful Easter concert with an exciting programme on July 19, which fuses dance and tango with the exhilarating music of Antonio Vivaldi.

The concert will feature performances of Winter from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons together with Summer from The Four Seasons of Beunos Aires by the great tango composer Astor Piazzolla.

Battle residents can take advantage of a special Early Bird offer of £10 per ticket, available exclusively from Farrago on Battle High Street and the festival website.

Only the first 50 tickets are available at this rate, thereafter the prices are £12.50 in advance and £15 on the door.

As with previous concerts, children under 16 enter for free.

In conjunction with award-winning Nobles Restaurant in Battle, festival organisers are also offering a dinner and concert package priced at £25 per person.

This includes a main course, a glass of wine and a concert ticket and is available to buy now on the festival website or by contacting the restaurant direct on 01424 774 422.

Organisers hope to form similar partnerships with other local businesses for the main October festival and any interested businesses should contact the festival team.

More information about the October festival, the concert on July 19 and special offers can be found on www.BattleFestival.co.uk.

Tickets go on general release tomorrow (Saturday)at the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill, the Tourist Information Centres in Rye and Hastings, Farrago in Battle, the Battle Festival Box Office on 01797 229 049 and on the festival website.