St Leonards Festival offers free family fun this weekend

​The alcohol-free event has a wealth of great acts lined up. Between 12noon and 6pm the gardens are divided in to four zones: Music and Dance, Circus, Storytelling and Community. A ‘flowers and animals’ themed carnival parade, circles the square at 3pm, with an opportunity make flags to take on the parade at 12-2pm.

On the Main Stage, acts are introduced by local favourite Ben Watson. The full programme, which this year includes a drumming segment performed by local drumming groups, can be found on stleonardsfestival.org.uk.

The line-up this year will feature an eclectic range of artists including young the UK African Acrobats, Christchurch School Choir, Elisha Edwards, Hastings Fat Tuesday Second Liners as well as many more talented performances.

In the Storytelling Zone, Xanthe and TUUP will enchant audiences with their tales plus Inside Out Theatre will bring their charming show ‘A tale of Two Men’ to the festival as well as Richard Storyboard who will entertain younger children with stories in his yurt.

In the Circus Zone, UK African Acrobats perform hilarious stunts, Xena Flame has crowds hula hooping like pros, whilst Circus Pazaz bring the big top alive.

In the community zone, audiences can enjoy delicious freshly cooked food or cool off with an ice cream and browse community stalls.

Event producers, 18 Hours say: “We are really looking forward to this year’s festival and bringing an uplifting day of celebration and entertainment. Make sure to come along and have a fun day.”

The theme for this year’s event is Flora and Fauna and people can dress in costumes reflecting the theme and take part in the parade on the day.

St Leonards Festival has been running since 2006 and is held to celebrate St Leonards' community and arts.

18 Hours are always looking for volunteers and stewards for their community events.

If you're interested in volunteering or would like more information, please contact Jo at [email protected].

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