Adur Festival attracts extra funding from Arts Council

The theme for 2015 has been revealed as Food of Love and the festival will offer 16 days of non-stop art and culture from May 30 to June 14.

There will be community events across Sompting, Lancing, Shoreham, Southwick and Fishersgate, with a district-wide street party on June 13, featuring professional street theatre performances from across the globe.

Adur Festival returns for its 28th year, and its third year under the leadership of festival director Mella Faye Punchard for the Ropetackle Trust.

Mella said: “After the roaring success of 2014, we will once again be hosting community events across the district and we have Arts Council funding for another great day of street parties across Adur on June 13, our big carnival day.

“Community groups and both local and international artists will all be out in force on Adur’s streets!

“The theme for 2015 is Food of Love and anyone can register an event. Venues, artists, community groups and individuals can register their events online at www.adurfestival.co.uk between January 5 and March 6.”

The Adur Festival is a celebration of arts and community and is growing year on year. This year, an increase in Arts Council funding has been given added value with support from Sussex Community Foundation and the continued support of Adur District Council.

Last year saw the beginning of a district-wide street party, which saw audiences turn out in their thousands and acts from across the globe performing on the street beside Adur’s own community groups and artists.

Partnerships with Sompting Big Local Hub, Fishersgate Community Centre and Dakini Arts have been forged and with the funding now in place for another year, district-wide collaboration is again under way.

Ropetackle chairman Martin Allen said: “I am delighted that the Arts Council has agreed not only to continue funding Adur Festival in 2015, but to increase its support.

“This is clear recognition of what has been achieved in the two years since Ropetackle took on the management of the festival, and of the significant strides we have made expanding it across Adur.”

There will be a meeting at the Ropetackle Arts Centre on January 14 at 6pm for all of those interested in putting on an event, with a panel of local event experts offering advice on how to manage, fund and market events.

Alex Bailey, chief executive of Adur and Worthing councils, said: “Adur Festival is an important part of the tapestry of culture that Adur and Worthing councils are actively supporting through their new Commit to Culture campaign.

“We invest money, time and our networks in supporting the festival, understanding that growing the reach and quality of community festivals is an important part of developing the identity of Adur as a special and unique place.”