Springtime for Hastings
On what turned out to be not only the final Thursday of March but also the coldest day of the month, the people of Hastings and St Leonards still came out to enjoy all manner of events, shopping opportunities, workshops, live music and street performances. We caught up with some of the spring shenanigans on Kings Road, St Leonards. It should be added, however, that the whole event was happening right across Hastings, particularly in Norman Road and Old Town.
It would be impossible to do full justice to the range of performers, but some of the highlights we saw were the Tornado Twirl-Stars, She Choir, the St Leonards Dance Troupe and much great music, from the talented buskers to the Dende Drummers. In addition, there were several drop-in workshops. Little Mashers, for example, offered the chance to explore printing skills for all ages. And Liz Emtage, at Pelham’s, gave people the chance to play with clay. One young lad, Otto, went to both of these and commented, “I really enjoyed the printing at Little Mashers because you could do anything with the materials. The ceramics was fun because I wasn’t used to [using] clay, in that way, before. I’m really excited to see how different it looks when it comes out of the kiln.” There were also all sorts of food available; the wonderful Dandelion was doing some good trade. And there were numerous pop-up street food vendors.
The event is organised by a collaboration of proactive local groups, including Home Live Art, Hastings Fat Tuesday, Afro-Co-Lab, Applause Rural Touring, Unveiled, White Rock Theatre and Ramshackle Productions. It is also supported by Hastings Borough Council and the Welcome Back Fund. Radiator Arts were responsible for some of the amazing visual decoration of the town, including adornments of the roads with street art including spring imagery and sculptures.
On a cold Thursday evening it may not have seemed like spring was bursting forth, but somehow, the good humour of the crowds and the creative talents on show warmed up our frosty cockles.
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