Popular Apulstock music festival 'back with a bang'

Aldwick man Alex Fryer, who runs an adult care centre in Chichester, set up the festival in 2011 and said the organisers were excited at returning this year with its first event since the pandemic.

This years event will take place at Lavant Memorial Hall from 5pm to 9pm on July 30 and tickets are all completely free.

He said: “The stars have really aligned for us this year. We were supposed to do our 10th anniversary event on March 2020 when everyone was starting to not want to go out so we postponed it.”

The event was then postponed again in 2021 but Alex said, thanks to new funding, the much-loved music festival which aims to create a positive music space for people with disabilities where everyone is friendly and safe, is ‘back with a bang’.

The organisers have secured vital funding to allow the event to go ahead with more than £5,000 raised between crowdfunding and support from West Sussex County Council.

"I’m really excited for it. Lavant is an amazing venue and I think it could be a real success,” Alex said, “we weren’t able to do the full event but with this new funding we thought we would like to do a few smaller events to build it all back up again.

"We just want to remind people what we are about.”

Next month, music fans can enjoy the sounds of Apulstock stalwarts Iron Tyger as well as a hot food and refreshment stalls.

Gearing up to next year, there are plans for a full festival experience with overnight camping, more music and dance performances, and a disabled changing facility.

Eventually, Alex said the team wants to be in a position to hold five events throughout the year, including one full festival.

Ahead of next year, the Apulstock team is looking for venues, bands and volunteers who would like to be a part of it to get in touch.

You can do so by emailing [email protected].

To get hold of your tickets for this year, email [email protected].