SUMMER EVENTS Six fabulous vintage-inspired events you can’t afford to miss over the coming months
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The Great Gatsby Fair
Saturday 21st-Sunday 22nd July
De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex, TN40 1DP WE HERE AT VE were delighted to hear of an event dedicated to the Peaky Blinders style of the 1920s, which in complete contrast to the 1940s themed events taking place across the country, will be glitsy, glamourous and altogether a whole lot more jazzy! The sunny seaside town of Bexhill is in for a real treat when Bentley’s Fairs brings The Great Gatsby Fair to town, with the beautiful Art Deco De la Warr Pavilion as a backdrop. The event is a celebration of all things 20s and 30s, there will be classic cars, vintage bikes, music, dance displays, competitions and so much more. It’s a great excuse to get dressed as a flapper or in a natty suit! For those of you that love a bit of vintage shopping, the wonderful Pop Up Vintage Fairs
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London will be there. Winners of the Best Vintage Fair by The Vintage Guide to London for three consecutive years, you’ll find some fantastic top-quality stock including clothing, homewares, jewellery, furniture, and more. On both days, there will be plenty of free entertainment for everyone to enjoy from Morris dancers, stilt walkers, children’s entertainment and performing arts schools showing off their talents to a Brolly Parade, Jazz bands, marching bands, ukulele bands and artists singing songs from the olden days – and then there’s Harold The Trolley Bus who is 90 years old this year! If you get peckish, Food Feast South East will be there with delicious food, flaming grills and BBQ’s, whilst Vegetarians and Vegans
will have a good menu to choose from too. Bars will serve ice cold beer, speciality wines, cocktails and mocktails. There are parties and competitions planned all weekend, Charleston dance competitions; a Vintage Swing Night on Saturday evening, a Jazz Breakfast on Sunday, a Peaky Blinders themed retro party, best dressed competitions, prizes for best dressed... In fact there’s so much going on we just can’t tell you about it all here! Some of the events are ticketed so your best bet is to visit the website and check out which ones you fancy and book online, so you can Charleston your way all over the weekend! www.thegreatgatsbyfair.co.uk
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Summertime Swing
Sunday 5th August
Saint Hill Manor, East Grinstead, West Sussex, RH19 4JY NOW IN ITS 14th year, Summertime Swing started life as a small, intimate gathering with The Jive Aces band just inviting friends and local dancers. Now it’s grown into a huge event, and last year over 1,600 people attended and the raised £20,000 for various charities, which is great achievement! Over the years, many international artists have joined The Jive Aces on stage including Keely Smith, Kenny Ball, Acker Bilk, Chas McDevitt, Vince Eager, Craig Douglas, Gunhild Carling, Ray Gelato, Si Cranstoun,
Mike Sanchez, Cassidy Janson and many other top performers. This year they will be joined by rock ’n’ roll legend Bill Haley’s daughter Gina Hayley, who is a formidable rhythm & blues singer in her own right; Canada’s top jazz and vintage songstress, Alex Pangman; vintage pinup singers, dancers and tappers The Satin Dollz; Kent based duo The Duettes, and up and coming rock ’n’ roll guitarist from France, Lucky Will. A great line-up for an afternoon of
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music, dancing and fun. There’s a huge dance floor so you can bop until you drop with jive and swing DJs spinning the wax – there’s a BBQ, gorgeous classic cars on display, and vintage stalls selling a whole range of delights. Tickets are available from their website or call 07947 156318 for more information. Concessions and group discounts are also available. www.jiveaces.com/summertimeswing
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Firle Vintage Fair
Saturday 11th-Sunday 12th August
Firle Park, Near Lewes, East Sussex, BN8 6LP
THE 15TH CENTURY Grand Manor at Firle Place is located in the quintessentially English South Downs and is the back-drop for Firle Vintage Fair – a celebration of antiquities of the past. A host of cherry-picked antique and vintage stalls will be there including French brocante, haberdashery and the latest crafting trends, plus Danish design, vintage fashion, country interiors and gardenalia. There will be original Victorian fairground rides, Croquet games, whilst The Pavilion Stage will be running a lineup of live Swing Jazz bands, solo artists, DJs Windups spinning vinyl to the Savoy Kicks, Gatsby Girls and Lindy Hop troupes, as well as a vintage fashion and couture show.
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Whilst you’re there, why not attend a decorative upcycling workshop, or a talk on keeping bees? Local beekeepers will be bringing wildflower and herb infused honey to taste. There’s also delicious street food and new this year, The Food Emporium, plus iced sloe gins and a Champagne bar on the lawns. If motoring is more your thing, then why not enter your own vintage vehicle to the Firle Vintage Car Motor Show or take a nostalgic trip on the double-decker Routemaster bus? So, dust off your tea dresses, braces and brogues and step back in style this August! www.firlevintagefair.co.uk
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Retro Festival Friday 10th-Sunday 12th August Newbury Showground, Berkshire, RG18 9QZ
AFTER THE PHENOMENAL success of last years Newbury Retro Festival, the organisers have had to rent a further 44 acres next door to the showground to accommodate this year’s visitors, which promises to be the biggest and best yet! Event organiser Paul says: “Last year was the most successful Retro Festival ever, with over 30,000 people attending. This year we have already exceeded last year’s sales and have filled the campsite already. We have had to hire another 44-acre field right next door for another campsite, and we have already sold 50 per cent of that! This means that Retro Festival Newbury will now be covering 221 acres!” The festival is quickly becoming the biggest of its kind in the UK, and the only one to keep expanding at such a rate, year on year. We asked Paul what the secret to this success was? “There’s no secret really. We just give people what they want. Other festivals concentrate on a certain era, we cover every era from the 1920s to the 1960s. We have three live music venues playing differing music. The Black Hangar is our 50s Rock ’n’ Roll and Rockabilly, The Ricky Tick is our 60s
Mod and Soul marquee, and in the Spitfire Pavilion you can jive away to the best music of the 1920s to the 1940s. “Our curators of each marquee are experts in their field. A little thing people don’t know about is that our Ricky Tick stage was actually a night club back in the 60s. It was one of the first venues for the Rolling Stones. In fact the original club DJ is still DJ’ing for us.” As well as music there will be over 1,000 classic vehicles on show including cars, motorcycles, over 100 American RV’s, steam engines, airstream caravans, portafold caravans, tear drop caravans, military vehicles, a field hospital, hot rods and race cars. On top of all this there will be over 300 vintage stalls selling everything from furniture to clothes and toys to car parts. In the arena there will be live shows plus the car exhibits will be paraded around the arena. Added to this there will be a steam powered fun fair to complement the retro feel. Another little known fact about the Retro Festival is that over the last three years they have managed to raise over £60,000 for charities, and this year’s chosen charity is the Children’s Bereavement Centre. Hopefully lots will be raised from the T-shirt and brochure sales. All in all, there will be over 40 live acts over the weekend which opens at 5pm on Friday afternoon, right through till 11pm on Sunday. Camping space is still available and you can either purchase tickets from the website or, at slightly more cost, buy them when you arrive. www.retrofestival.co.uk 50 / June-July 2018 / ve
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Vintage & Steam Show
Saturday 18th-Sunday 19th August
Weald & Downland Living Museum, Singleton, Chichester, West Sussex, PO18 0EU
EXPERIENCE THE NOSTALGIC sights and sounds of an era when steam and world class engineering powered the country! When you visit the Vintage & Steam Show, you can enjoy all the bustle and excitement of a traditional steam festival, with fantastic full size and miniature steam engines on display and working around the museum’s fascinating 40 acre site in the South Downs
National Park, which also contains wonderful buildings rescued from throughout south-east England and artefacts from architectural and agricultural history. In addition to steam engines, you can see a wide range of other exhibits including commercial vehicles, classic cars, model boats, and much more. It’s a real family-friendly event. A popular attraction are the beautiful steam-
powered ‘gallopers’, which will be at the centre of a small traditional vintage fairground, which will delight both adults and children alike. The atmosphere is wonderful, with vintage music, local crafts and traditional demonstrations, plus arena displays throughout the weekend and the whole museum to explore. www.wealddown.co.uk
W E A L D & DOW N LAN D LI V I N G M U SE U M
18 -19 AUGUST
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10:30am - 5pm
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Salute To The 40S
Saturday 15th-Sunday 16th September
THIS SEPTEMBER transport yourself back to the 40s at The Historic Dockyard, Chatham at what the Daily Telegraph called: “One of Britain’s Best Vintage Festivals”, and looking at this year’s line-up, we quite agree. Girls, get those victory rolls and that red lipstick picture perfect, and guys, get that natty suit on and don your best hat and enjoy a jam-packed weekend stepping back in time. In full swing just as the 1940s were, the
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weekend will be packed full of sing-a-long and dance ‘til you drop entertainment. With a variety of fabulous acts as well as comedy, variety acts, dance workshops and performances to tip top it all off, plus much more to see in and around the dockyard. Salute To The 40s is an event not to be missed, so go and visit their website to book your tickets now. www.thedockyard.co.uk
James McKenzie Scott Nicol
Jez Endean
The Historic Dockyard, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4TZ
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