The 2017 Rye Arts Festival kicks off on Saturday September 16 with a programme of fun and free to watch and take part in events taking place around the town centre. The programme of free events for everyone to enjoy will be from around 12:30pm to 5pm on and the action is mainly in Church Square, Gungarden, Market Street and the Kino courtyard.
Rye Arts Festival are pleased to have signed up Hunt & Darton for the afternoon. They are one of the finest pairs of DJs and presenting talent in local radio in the country. They take their Radio Local around the UK and the good news is that they will be setting up their radio station in Kino Digital cinema’s courtyard for the afternoon from 12.30pm onwards.
And they are looking for members of the Rye public to drop in and to join in! As the sisters of spin are handing responsibility for creating jingles, features, phone-ins and even deciding what discs to play to the public! They are Radio Local and so the show is themed on “local”. Hunt & Darton are keen for people to come along and tell their stories and perform their skills. It is all live – no pre-records!
One extremely important piece of information that the audience and performers need to be aware of – the show is so local it is only broadcast to the immediate audience in the Kino courtyard. You won’t be able to sit at home and tune in – you’ve got to be there to hear what’s going on! Just turn up and join in the fun.
At the same time as Radio Local is on air, others in Rye will be entertained all afternoon by Rat Choc Chip, which is a street ice cream vendor with a difference.
When the vendor stops, join the queue and you will enjoy a real “tail” of the unexpected. Because try as she might the very lovely ice cream vendor cannot prevent her furry friends from lending a hand – or a paw, in fact! While she would like to keep them safely out of site from plain clothes health inspectors, the rats are desperate to join in! And their help isn’t confined to front of house sales for the chocolate sprinkles on the ice creams are suspiciously like “droppings” gifted by the furry rodents!
And keep an eye open for the amazing The Flying Bazazi Brothers! They have been described as an act that “bounds on to stage like Wham in cheap suits after too much Lucozade, this riotous double act, dance, juggle and fall over each other for your viewing pleasure”.
They claim to have brought their 1996 Las Vegas act to the street for our pleasure. While the Caesar’s Palace stint might be a bit far-fetched, they certainly are a whole lot of fun! The boys warn the audience “to strap themselves in, it’s gonna be huge”! While there won’t be seat belts, or even seats, on the day the performers mix ridiculous dancing, dad humour and more than just a little bit of real skill and dexterity when it comes to the juggling! It’s gonna be fun and you don’t need to book – just turn up.
The streets of Rye will also buzz to the sound of music. Check out the front of Adams where the mighty midget guitar players the Rye Ukulele Experiment will be striking up and singing familiar pop songs both old and new. And the church bells at St Mary’s are going to be rung by a visiting team.
Make sure you don’t miss out on the free, family fun! Turn up on the day, Saturday, 12:30pm and be entertained.
Following the free festivities, the 46th annual Rye Arts Festival will offer a truly world-class programme of ticketed contemporary and classical music, literary talks, historical and nature walks, film, theatre, art exhibitions and children’s events between September 16 and October 1.
More information is available by checking out www.ryeartsfestival.co.uk. The Box Office is open for personal bookings at Phillips & Stubbs in Cinque Ports St, from 9:30am to 12:30pm Monday to Saturday – otherwise you can book tickets online from the website.
Photo: Rye Arts Festival