The Irish Festival is this Sunday. The weather is going to be good (fingers crossed) and everything is being put in place. There will be lots on offer including music, stalls, fun fair rides, Irish dancing by various dancing schools, childrens corner and of course the beer tent.
The CICS (Celtic and Irish Cultural Society) have worked tirelesessly all year to make this, the 15th annual Irish Festival as good, maybe even bettr than the fourteen before.
The last meeting was held last night at the Emerald Club who will be open for tea, coffes, cakes and other lovely nibbles.
Here are some of the great offers available on the day.
The Gatwick Diamond Rotary Club – “Vinnie needs a new home”
This Year’s Irish Festival is being held on Sunday 29th Aug 2010 between 11:30 and 7:00pm at Southgate Playing Fields, Southgate Avenue, Crawley,
Don’t miss this chance to win Vinnie
Vinnie has become too hot to handle and needs a new home.
Raffle Tickets will be on sale at £1 each and the Raffle will probably take place at about 5pm depending on demand.
All Money raised by us with our various activities that day will go to the following very worthy Local causes :-
Crawley Open House, Down’s Syndrome and Home-Start Crawley & Horsham (Home-Start is also the Mayor’s chosen Charity for this Year)
The music line up:
Crawley Happy Times will be present so please come and say hello and see what surprises we have in store for you!
On Saturday 31st July, the official launch of the Irish & Celtic Cultural Society festivities was kicked off with good food, excellent dancing, fine music and great company.
Attended by Councillors Bob and Brenda Burgess, Bob Lanzer, His Worshipful the Mayor Councillor Lee Burke and Mayoress Councillor Ali Burke, and many more. The guinness flowed, the band played and the food went down a treat.
2010 sees the 15th Annual Irish Festival on the 29th August. Last year was a huge success, even though the weather was not too bright. This year, we are hoping the sun will smile down on this brilliant event hosting music, stands, dancing and of course the beer tent.
The Launch Party was hosted by the Celtic and Irish Cultural Society in the presence of the Mayor of Crawley Cllr Lee Burke together and Mr Michael Keavney of the Irish Embassy and some invited guests including the sponsors, supporters, volunteers and helpers that made last years festival the success it has become.
A light buffet was served to a backdrop of live music – by one of the bands ‘Dun the Vail’ who will be playing at the Festival. A special dance display was also a treat of the evening. We were also treated to a performance from ‘Just Kelly’ who just happened to be passing by. Thank you Kelly!
The centre piece of the night was the ‘toasting’ to the success of the festival including the cutting of the 15th Anniversary cake with the Mayor saying a few words about the festival and the CICS and asking all in attendance to drink to the festival’s success and the cutting of the 15th Anniversary cake.
The Festival attracts up to seven thousand visitors to the town from throughout Crawley, Sussex and the Southeast of England and has built a reputation as a great family day out over the August weekend. The event showcases some of the best musical talent from Britain and Ireland on three live entertainment stages, showing modern, traditional Irish music and open dance competitions. This year it featuring heavily on the younger element of the community with a special children’s entertainment marquee involving games, song and story with particular emphasis on Irish traditions and folklore. In addition, sport and cultural identity are each featured prominently with Ceili and Set dancing, GAA sports, tug-o-war, a funfair, various food and craft stalls and displays with the added attraction of a licensed beer tent.
The event is run by The Celtic and Irish Cultural Society, which was formed to promote a greater understanding of Celtic and Irish traditions to Crawley and the surrounding areas. With support from Crawley Borough Council and West Sussex County Council it is featured heavily in regional printed and radio media as well as the local weekly and Irish themed publications. Further details about the society and previous events can be found online at www.celtic-irish.co.uk
Crawley Happy Times were invited down to experience the evening. We took some pictures and video for you to enjoy.
Crawley Festival saw the annual Beer Festival at The Hawth from 25th to the 27th June.
Setting up camp on a small bit of the Hawth’s premises, Crawley Happy Times settled in for a weekend of music, fun, entertainment, good food and of course BEER! The sun shone down on what can only be described as one of the most successful events Crawley has seen. Music and dancing poured from every corner and the people flocked to see what it was all about. Even if the music was not to everyones taste, the beer tent sure was. The atmosphere over the whole weekend (not mentioning Sunday afternoon of course) was electric. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Lorraine Gould for the very kind invite and a massive thank you to Dave Watmore who organises the event along with his polite and dedicated staff. Well done to all who were involved. We really cannot wait for next year, which we are sure will be just as successful.
As always, we took some pictures and video for you to enjoy. If you could not make this years Beer Festival, we would encourage you to pop this in your diary for next year, as you really missed a brilliant weekend.
Saturday the 19th June 2010 saw the launch of the twenty fifth Crawley Festival.
We were treated to a superb array of music by the Crawley Millennium Concert Band who have been performing for the people of Crawley for many years now. Then the town crier invited the people of Crawley to attend the Crawley Festival held over the next two weeks. Next to be announced was His Worshipful The Mayor Lee Burke who addressed the people thanking the organisers and sponsors for their support. Mayor Lee Burke also thanked the community for their devotion and support to this two week event which will hold over fifty events. Included will be music, dance, theatre and craft. Why would you want to miss out?
We would like to congratulate Greggs Bakery for their fund raising efforst which consisted of handing out free cups for a refreshment of your choice, selling cakes for twenty pence and their ‘throw a wet sponge at the man’. Great stuff guys! We hope you raised lots of money.
We will be keeping you up-to-date with the events, but if you attend and wish to share your experience or photos with us, feel free.
We took some pictures for you, and a some video footage of the Zumba dancing and Mayor Lee Burke addressing the people of Crawley. We joined in with the Zumba but it is much harder than it looks, honest.
Our thanks goes to all the lovely people of Crawley who came out in support of this, the first of many great events in Crawley over the next two weeks. See you at the next one
After the massive success of last year’s Crawley Folk Festival, The Hawth is pleased to announce that 2010’s Festival is on sale now and bigger and better than ever!
The weekend includes music from 2010 BBC Folk Award winner Martin Simpson (best traditional track), the highly regarded acoustic blues guitarist Steven Finn and The Jemima Price Band . On Sunday we are delighted to be able to present the newly crowned Folk Singer of the year, John Boden with The Remnant Kings who will be headlining the main stage. Celebrated whistle and flute player Brian Finnegan and Geoff Achison & The Spikedrivers will be taking to the Amphitheatre.
BAD SHEPS black 4 grain
Of course there’s the usual range of goodies on offer too, including free workshops, craft stalls, demonstrations in Morris and traditional folk dance and the big news is the selection of beers available in the Real Ale Tent has DOUBLED this year!
All this plus free performances from Ian Briggs, Jess Morgan, The Flying Toads and more on the free Foyer and Beer Tent Stages across the weekend.
Don’t forget if you really want to get into the festival mood, we also have great on site camping facilities for just £10 and as always Under 12s Go Free so why not bring the family!
There is a fantastic special offer for all early bookers – book before 9 May 2010 you can SAVE £2.50 per ticket with our EARLY BIRD OFFER!
Jon Boden
There’s also lots to look forward to on the Friday night too. Audiences can choose from Blues in the Amphitheatre with Rag Mama Rag, Ian Briggs & The Supervampers and Nicky Moore’s Blues Corporation or you have another chance to catch Adrian Edmondson with his band The Bad Shepherds, following huge public demand after last year’s performance, they’ll be taking to the main stage to showcase punk songs with a folk twist once again.
Tickets for Blues Night: £12.50 (discounts: £10)
Special Offer: £7.50 for weekend ticket holders (if booked at the same time).
Tickets for The Bad Shepherds: £16.50 (discounts: £13.50)
Special Offer: £10 for weekend ticket holders (if booked at the same time).
You can purchase a ticket for one day or the whole weekend by calling the box office on 01293 553636 or book online at www.hawth.co.uk.
Last Thursday Crawley Happy Times was invited down to the recently opened Cha Tea Room for a cup of tea and cake.
Pat Hollington, greeted us with a smile and politely showed us to a fine looking clean table and chairs where we sat comfortably.
This quaint, pretty room based in the George Hotel (to the left as you go in through the main doors and up a few steps) is just lovely. It holds a warm inviting atmosphere with great views out onto the High Street. The light streams in from the big windows filling the room, making it a perfect area to sit in with a good book whilst sipping hot tea and nibbling on a delicious cake. The menu also boasts of Bagels, croissants, gateauxs, paninis, toasted sandwiches and even beer and wine.
Crawley is missing a refined inexpensive peaceful area to relax in for a break from the hustle of the town. But no more! The Cha Tea Room fills this gap adequately. It makes a perfect addition to the George Hotels already well established services. Dating back to 1615 this former Coaching Inn, is steeped in history and character. The Cha Tea Room brings this character to life!
Pat told us Dawn, her daughter, runs the business but was unable to attend due to other commitments. Dawn was made redundent from Iceland leaving her at a loose end, when the owner of the George Hotel asked Pat if she knew anyone who might be looking to run a new venture. Pat instantly thought of Dawn and the rest is history. Along with Dawn’s father Marshall, who helps when he can, there is a real family feel to the business.
While we were visiting, we were joined by a couple who sat at another table to enjoy their first taste of the Cha Tea Room. They told us they thought is was a lovely concept with great service. The tea was hot and the cakes were delicious said the lady, adding, we will be back next week for sure.
Please show your support by visiting Dawn and Pat for tea at the Cha Team Room in the George Hotel. Any visit made in February will include a free cake with ever ‘pot for two’ bought. Please quote CHT3 when ordering and mention where you read about them
We end by thanking Dawn and Pat for their hospitality. We wish them all the best for the future and look forward to visiting again soon.
We interviewed Pat and spoke briefly to the couple visiting the Cha Tea Room
Saturday evening, myself and a couple of the Crawley Happy Times crew popped down the Half Moon for a few drinks and to see The Analysir mix it up on the decks. As the night went on, The Analysir belted out some great tunes, some old, some new. There were some old faces there too and we enjoyed a great night of toe tapping, body-grooving beats.
The Analysir, AKA Merv Thorne, has been DJ-ing for over twenty years and does a lot of work with the youth of today in Crawley, helping them find their path in the music industry. Merv’s ambition would be to get a little place in Crawley town centre where he can hold ‘Open DJ’ nights, which I think would be a great asset to the town: the community will be able to share others’ knowledge and have a great night at the same time!
Merv explained to me that his friend, local lad Chris (Lil Chris), would be mixing it up later on in the evening, with some light house and garage tunes. Well, let me tell you, Lil Chris was well worth the wait!
My knowledge of DJs may not be completely universal, but I would definitely say Lil Chris has a brilliant future in the world of music and DJing. I guess he has had a great tutor in The Analysir (who he promptly ‘bigs up’ in his interview). Great set Lil Chris!
If you missed Saturday night, then I would suggest keeping an eye out on Facebook or on here for the next event featuring The Analysir.
We spoke to the bar staff at The Half Moon (Toni Green and Chloe Riche) who told us they loved working behind the bar and enjoyed the atmosphere, specially when The Analysir was in the house!
The Half Moon has a nice atmosphere and reasonable costs for drinks. I can personally recommend their BBQ Chicken Pizza.
