Prepare to be Wowed: Fat Tuesday is Back
ERIN WARD
This year’s Fat Tuesday festival is anticipated to be just as exceptional as ever.
From live performances and music conventions to the annual umbrella parade, the festival has something for everyone.
HIP spoke to Sally Lampitt, one of the event directors, for a behind-the-scenes snippet of what it takes to organise an event of this scale and a preview of what to expect from this year’s festival.
Hastings Fat Tuesday runs from 28 February to 4 March, featuring over 350 free gigs, gatherings, parties and parades alongside ticketed events, with acclaimed artists from across the South-East appearing alongside a wealth of local bands.
The event is run by a not-for-profit organisation that supports the communities of Hastings and St Leonards year-round, promoting creative opportunities to people at all stages of their lives through arts and culture. It is managed by a small team made up of co-directors Adam Daly & Sally Lampitt and General Manager Hannah Deeble, and it is currently the UK’s largest Mardi Gras celebration.
The preparation for the festival is extensive, beginning only a few weeks after the previous event finishes. This is essential for the necessary preparations involving funding, marketing and partnerships to take place. According to Lampitt, the main challenge in recent years has been “being able to secure enough funding so that we can deliver something that’s really substantial, but also really good quality.”
Last year, a lack of funding required changes, however as a small organisation they were able to be flexible and still managed to offer “the core element that people love”. This year, the organisers feel “very lucky” to be supported by Arts Council England.
For the organisers, the focus is on giving back to the community and showcasing the incredible artists the area has to offer. They receive around 250 applications every year, and although they cannot say yes to everybody, they say it’s “a great opportunity for us to really hear and see more of the local talent.” Fat Tuesday highlights the “amazing musical economy” that exists in Hastings and introduces these artists to the public.
This year it will also feature an event at The White Rock Theatre, including comedy, cabaret, drag and bingo, with “something going on for everyone”.
The two main music days are Saturday and Tuesday.
Unplugged Saturday features artists performing five 15-minute acoustic sets, moving between venues throughout town with little setup, which can often be very “chaotic”.
The Fat Tuesday Tour involves artists playing three 20-minute sets in venues across Hastings Old Town. As the name suggests, Tuesday night is the main event, with full stages set up in all the venues that participate and a real focus on high energy local artists.
However, Lampitt confesses a real affection for the Saturday programme, saying “I absolutely love the madness of something like that. I love the fact that you can walk around and there are hundreds of people out on the streets. You know, musicians running from venue to venue. There’s different genres of music being played across the old town and St. Leonards. I think that’s just wonderful. The Saturday has always been my favourite bit.”
Visit schedule.hastingsfattuesday.co.uk for a full list of this year’s events and artist details.
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