Arundel Festival on track for voyage of creativity

Train operator Southern has been announced as a major sponsor of the 2013 festival, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the railway coming to Arundel.

Southern will be helping the festival to get off to a flying start with a full programme of activities at the Arundel railway station on the opening day, Saturday, August 17, which will tie in with events in the town.

A group of ‘Railway Children’ in period costumes will walk from the station to join the festival’s carnival parade through the town, and workshops will be held in the run-up to the festival to prepare for the procession.

Another new supporter, law firm Green Wright Chalton Annis, is sponsoring the opening day, culminating in a spectacular firework display over Jubilee Gardens.

Festival organisers revealed their plans on Monday (June 10), when the programme was launched in the Collector Earl’s Garden at Arundel Castle.

Highlighting the festival’s own 36th anniversary and the Arun Valley railway line’s 150th anniversary, the Duchess of Norfolk told guests and members of groups who will be taking part in the 10-day event: “It’s all very exciting.”

The castle will itself be hosting productions by the GB Theatre Company of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice and A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the Collector Earl’s Garden, and drama will be a major feature of the festival programme, with special productions by Arundel Players and Drip Action, as well as the popular Theatre Trail and plays at The Arundel Jailhouse and a feast of street entertainment.

Southern is sponsoring the bumper programme of music and other entertainment on the stage in the Jubilee Gardens each day, while classical music lovers can look forward to performances by the Arundel-based Hanover Band and concerts in the festival’s Words and Music schedule.

Transport is a recurring theme – with trains, boats and planes, or strictly speaking, helicopters.

The third new sponsor, Arundel Brewery, is backing helicopter rides above the town on all three days of the bank holiday weekend, August 24-6.

As for the boats, the ever-popular bath tub race is back, on Saturday, August 24.

Wow Creative will be running youth and family events throughout the festival and there will be all the usual community events including the 10k run, Lions’ Club duck race and Rotary Club fun day.

Festival co-chairman Ash Kent said support from all the sponsors was helping to put the event on a firm footing for this year and the future. “We’re all ready to go now. We can concentrate on what really matters now, entertaining the people who come along,” he added.