Crawley’s Community Festival returns

Known as a festival organised for the community, by the community, we’re thrilled to see Crawley Festival return this month!

For two weeks, the town will host an array of amazing events bringing together residents, local groups and organisations.

The first event, High Street Live will take place on Sunday, June 12 and sees two stages at opposite ends of the High Street, with performances from local bands and musicians between 2.00pm and 9.30pm. The High Street will be closed from traffic, allowing tables from bars and restaurants to spill outside and customers to enjoy the music!

“With no traffic, the cobbled High Street becomes a great place to sit and enjoy some free entertainment and some great food,” organiser Tony Witton, who lives in Crawley, explains.

On Saturday, June 18, Crawley Festival’s Mainstage event will take over the town! Based in the Memorial Gardens, between 12.00pm and 5.00pm, workshops including art, singing and DJ skills will be in action, along with bands, singers and dancers from all over Crawley performing routines. Food stalls, craft beer, ice creams, bouncy castles and street theatre will be keeping residents refreshed and in the festival spirit!

“We also have the Cultural Kitchen where local people cook traditional dishes to celebrate their heritage,” Tony tells us. “They demonstrate the recipes and then people get to taste the food. The beautiful park makes a great backdrop for a relaxing afternoon of free entertainment!”

Crawley Festival’s Mainstage has been running since 2006 and High Street Live for the last six years and aims to showcase Crawley’s talent.

“I got involved because I wanted to do something to make the town a more interesting place to live; to give people an opportunity to learn new skills by taking part in some creative activity; as well as enable talented performers to show people what they can do and develop their stage skills,” Tony, who works hard to organise these annual events says.

“I hope it makes people a little bit proud of living in Crawley to see what local people can do when they work together! Come along and enjoy the summer by celebrating Crawley’s wealth of talent!”

To see more about this year’s two weeks of community fun, visit: www.crawleyfestival.co.uk.

By Shelley Baker