Photos from the Festival

2006 PHOTOS

Friday 15th September
	Above - Nick Herbert M.P. talking to Michel Olszewski Left - Festival Chairman Michel Olszewski Gives the opening welcome speech Right - Guests at the reception	The opening reception BACK TO THE TOP
THE OPENING CONCERT with
PARA 90	The Influence	APOCALYPSE COW
A great time was had by all BACK TO THE TOP	Someone from Meridian TV was filming bits of the evening for their broadband service>>
Saturday 16th September
Chanctonbury Morris Men	'Let's Dance' Maypole Dancers Audience participation	Tom Young about to begin his recital at Danny House About seventy artists, many of them local, exhibited their work at the Scout HQ on the first weekend of the Festival. Meredith Namsoo (shown in picture,wearing yellow), the artist and teacher, whose group organised the exhibition, was delighted at the large numbers of visitors to the exhibition and the huge amount of enthusiasm shown by people. BACK TO THE TOP
Sunday 17th September
	Due to a massive demand for tickets, the Festival organisers moved this show to the church, to accommodate everyone who wanted to see Shine	BACK TO THE TOP
Monday 18th September
		Feathers of Hurst put on a splendid fashion show in the Village Centre with witty commentary by Rupert and Ben Graham-Evans, sons of Anne, the owner. Gorgeous boots, shoes and handbags were provided by Sassy. Getting on for a hundred ladies,and two men, greatly enjoyed the evening! BACK TO THE TOP
Tuesday 19th September
Round the campfire with the Guides BACK TO THE TOP		Marchant and Weekes Diaries Alan Needham as Thomas Marchant Michael Sqire as Richard Weekes
Wednesday 20th September
Hurstpierpoint Players put on a great production of Noel Coward's Fallen Angels that ran from Wednesday until Saturday BACK TO THE TOP
Thursday 21st September
Sayers Common Church was the fantastic venue for a tremendous jazz gig featuring Moondance and their vocalist Rosanna Schura. They said it was one of the best venues they had ever played in and certainly the first time they had performed in a church with the audience sipping glasses of wine throughout! BACK TO THE TOP
Friday 22nd September
The residents of Ribbetts thoroughly enjoyed a visit from Nelson and Amaryllis from Vanguard Productions, who presented a show called 'They can't black out the moon' which included songs, sketches and memories of life in the nineteen thirties and forties including tins of spam, dried egg powder and Oxydol detergent!		BACK TO THE TOP
Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th September
A team of willing volunteers helped Fred and his troupe put up the red and yellow Circus Tent ready for the first of his two amazing performances! Fred's Flying Circus played to capacity audiences on Court Bushes Recreation Ground. He said that his show would be enjoyed by "children of all ages" and he was right - the audience included a 3 week old baby and some great-grannies! Below: Pub Quiz winners at The Poacher with their Trophy	The 'Made in Heaven' display of about 40 wedding dresses dating from the nineteen-thirties, accompanied by a slide show of historic dresses, was on show for the second week of the Festival in Holy Trinity Church. The Mothers' Union collected dresses from their members and families which showed the changing fashions over the years. The children's craft day, organised by the Kraft Barn team, in the Village Centre, had dozens of children happily and busily making decorated fridge magnets, butterflies and lots of other things to take home with them. It was a huge success! BACK TO THE TOP	The Holy Trinity Bellringers put on a fascinating display of information about bells and bellringing throughout the Festival, inside the church. They also started the Festival with a quarter peal of bells and will do the same at the end. See programme for details The Conference Suite at the village centre was filled to capacity with all sorts of arts and crafts. On a sunny day, a great many people were out and about joining in all the Festival events.
Monday 25th September
BACK TO THE TOP		The Evening with Noel Coward, put on by Belinda Sharp and her family, with members of the Players and other friends, was a sell-out success. Helen Adams, a former Cardiff Singer of the World, was the surprise celebrity soloist. She urged the audience to keep supporting their theatre and said how fortunate Hurst is to have such an asset. Above:Helen Adams is presented with a bouquet. Far left: Belinda Sharp Left: Helen Adams
Tuesday 26th September

Wednesday 27th September
		The Festival's 'Over Sixties Day' started with a music quiz and a tea dance in the Village Centre. A delicious lunch was provided. And an inspiring recital, by virtuoso harpist Margaret Watson, in the Methodist Church, which has a wonderful acoustic for recitals, was attended by about 80 people. After the recital, people crowded round Margaret and she explained some of the technicalities of harp playing. Chairman of the Over-Sixties, Geoff Farmer, warmly thanked her for a delightful afternoon. And then there was more tea! BACK TO THE TOP
Thursday 28th September
The poetry, prose and song evening at St. George's Church went with a swing. Students from Hurstpierpoint College read poetry and prose and Holy Trinity Choir sang anthems - all on the theme of heaven, earth, space and sky! BACK TO THE TOP
Friday 29th September
The Great Hall at Danny was filled to capacity for the recital by the Cirruschamber ensemble and virtuoso guitarist Richard Durrant. They played pieces by Mozart, Steve Reich, Boccherini and Schubert as well as music composed and arranged by Richard Durrant himself. The audience cheered them to the rafters at the end of the evening.		BACK TO THE TOP
Saturday 30th September
The Third Saturday of the Festival started with a giraffe, borrowed from Cow Parade (yes, honestly!), which rode through the High Street on the back of a truck, turning heads! It took some shifting when it reached the school playing fields where the Village Party was to be held - especially when it seemed to stop for a snack from the overhanging trees! In the evening, our friends from our twin town of St. Martin entertained us wonderfully, followed by the teams from 'The Joy of Singing' and 'Write a play in a day' who produced a masterly short play with music, and then we were entertained by two bands, (name of youth band not known) and then Ultraswing. Right: The Festival Committee as usual provided the bar! BACK TO THE TOP	The Tai Chi demonstration on the Village Green was watched by fascinated passers-by and lots of people on their way to the Village Party. Daisy the Cow made lots of friends, including members of the Burgess Hill Youth Marching Band! The Village Party was compered by John Wilkinson, who introduced bouncy castles, the tea tent, hot dogs provided by the Scouts, the Marching Band, a space-hopper race, and the Punch and Judy Show. Everyone had a great time! BACK TO THE TOP
Sunday 1st October
The Harvest Lunch in the Village Centre was packed with guests, including our French friends from St. Martin de Boscherville, who joined us for the final weekend of the Festival.	Later that day . . .
The crowning glory of this year's festival was the 'Messiah From Scratch' in Holy Trinity Church. In spite of its title, this was a relly professional performance helped to reach the high standard by a superb orchestra - Sinfonia da Chiesa - and wonderful soloists - soprano Una Barry, contralto Rosemary Hayes, Tenor David Webb and bass Gerard Delrez	Una Barry · Rosemary Hayes · Gerard Delrez· David Webb Conductor Stephen Hope and trumpeters from the orchestra Left: Festival Committee Chaiman Michel Olszewski closes the 2006 Hurst Festival with a big thank-you to all those who were involved in performances and the planning of the events.
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