Hailsham Festival

Hailsham Festival For eager artists, poets and authors - there is plenty to get involved in.

The Hailsham Festival of Arts & Culture is held annually and represents a celebration of both professional and amateur talent, creativity and imagination centred in the market town of Hailsham and its surrounding area.

5th - 20th September 2026 Hailsham Festival of Arts & Culture returns for its 19th year with a vibrant September programme that celebrates the creative and cultural community at th

e heart of Wealden. Taking place between the 6th and 21st September, visitors are invited to join in and book a range of joyful, diverse and affordable events taking place in and around Hailsham. This year, new acts include Voices of Volya - a Ukrainian choir that performs locally, raising funds for medical equipment sent to frontline soldiers in Ukraine. In addition, there will be various live theatre acts, cult cinema screenings, Meet the Author events, Immersive theatre Jane Austen-style, Jazz, Pottery, Art Workshops at Gallery North, classical music recitals, a Carpenters Tribute … and much more. The annual Children’s Art competition & Creative Writing Competitions will all return. The Hailsham Art Trail is back - with local artists and makers showcasing their works of art in and around Hailsham’s retailers, cafes and restaurants. For a full-bodied flavour of all that the Hailsham Festival has to offer, browse the What’s On programme and book at www.hailshamfestival.co.uk

🎭This is going to be a real highlight of this year's Festival!Solo Play 'JARMAN' will be performed on stage 📍 Pavilion -...
16/06/2026

🎭This is going to be a real highlight of this year's Festival!

Solo Play 'JARMAN' will be performed on stage
📍 Pavilion - Cinema and Theatre
📆12th September
🕢From 7.30pm.

🎟BOOK YOUR TICKETS HERE:
https://hailshampavilion.co.uk/events/hailsham-festival-jarman/

Derek Jarman: film-maker, painter, gardener at Prospect Cottage, activist, writer... his influence remains as strong as it was on the day AIDS killed him in 1994. But his story, one of the most extraordinary lives ever lived, has never been told. Until now.

This vibrant solo play by Mark Farrelly (Quentin Crisp: Naked Hope / Howerd's End) brings Derek back into being for a passionate, daring reminder of the courage it takes to truly live while you're alive. A journey from Dungeness to deepest, brightest Soho and into the heart of one of our most iconoclastic artists.

Jarman’s works include taboo-breaking films like Sebastiane, Jubilee and Caravaggio, pop videos for the Pet Shop Boys (It’s A Sin and Rent), his extraordinary borderless garden in Dungeness, his shocking last paintings, and his unforgettable final film Blue, consisting of a single continuous frame of blue and chronicling what it’s like to lose your sight…but never your artistic vision.

Find out more here:
https://youtu.be/DCntUFZEEVI

Running time: 80 minutes, no interval.
Director: Sarah-Louise Young.

Nominated for Best Solo Performance In A Play, Off-West End Awards 2022.
Reviews:
★★★★★ Q***r Guru

"beautiful, fun and relentlessly inspiring. Jarman is a fearless portrait of a key figure in LGBTQ+ history, and one of this country’s greatest artists'

★★★★★ Bum on a Seat

“Jarman admonishes us to ‘be astonishing’. And that’s exactly what Mark Farrelly is. Fabulous, thought-provoking stuff”

★★★★★ "a performance of such controlled brilliance" AJH Loves Theatre

★★★★★ London Theatre 1
'a mini-masterpiece”






16/06/2026

"We are delighted to support Hailsham Festival's 20th anniversary. It's a fantastic event that brings energy and excitement to the town, and we're pleased to play a part in helping make this year's celebrations a success."

15/06/2026

The countdown is on for a vast line-up of talented regional artists and a feast of music, dance, drama, literature and street entertainment, as the town hosts the 𝗛𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗺 𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝘀 & 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 from 5th September to 20th September!

👉 FULL DETAILS: https://www.hailsham-tc.gov.uk/news/countdown-to-hailshams-festival-of-arts-and-culture/

We've asked super nicely, so consider this your final warning 😉TODAY is the last day to vote for us in the Hailsham Cham...
14/06/2026

We've asked super nicely, so consider this your final warning 😉

TODAY is the last day to vote for us in the Hailsham Chamber of Commerce Business Awards! If you've experienced or enjoyed what we do over the last twenty years - your support would mean so much.

Click the link here to vote for us as the Best Charitable Community Organisation. Your vote could make all the difference 🙏

https://www.hailshambusinessawards.co.uk/award-categories/best-charity-community-organisation-in-hailsham-2026/

Hailsham & District Chamber of Commerce






Had a chance to browse the 2026 Festival Programme yet?35+ events and more being added each week! It's a bumper year wit...
13/06/2026

Had a chance to browse the 2026 Festival Programme yet?

35+ events and more being added each week! It's a bumper year with many of our old favourites like the Murder Mystery Supper, Mayor's Concert and Hailsham Pavilion screenings... plus we have heaps of newbies such as Gibbon & Goldfinch's Family Gig for 5-10 year olds and Belle's Pottery Funny Food Clay-Making classes.... and dinosaurs in the high street on the 5th September... Yes, you heard that right.

So stay tuned, stay alert 🦖🦖👀👀 there's truck loads of fun to be had this September.
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Hailsham Pavilion - Cinema and Theatre
The Grove Theatre Eastbourne
Belle's Pottery Hailsham

A heartfelt thank you and friendly reminder to our friends, partners, sponsors and supporters to please VOTE for us in t...
11/06/2026

A heartfelt thank you and friendly reminder to our friends, partners, sponsors and supporters to please VOTE for us in the Business Awards!

We are thrilled to be in with a chance of winning the Charity and Community Award which recognises our dedication to the Hailsham community by supporting, improving, and making a difference locally. To win this in our 20th Anniversary year really would be the icing on the cake.

💛💜Voting closes this Sunday 14th June. 💛💜

Click the link below to vote for us
https://www.hailshambusinessawards.co.uk/award-categories/best-charity-community-organisation-in-hailsham-2026/

09/06/2026

THE Hailsham Festival of Arts and Culture is returning this autumn for a milestone 20th anniversary, bringing a vibrant, two-week celebration.

Tickets please! 🎟 Be one of our early 🐦 and secure your tickets to over 35 arts and culture events taking place in and ...
09/06/2026

Tickets please! 🎟 Be one of our early 🐦 and secure your tickets to over 35 arts and culture events taking place in and around Hailsham this September.

This year we and our wonderful sponsors (we'll be introducing them soon) have worked hard to continue keeping costs low to ensure that over half of our events are free of charge with a number of others costing £5 or less.

Simply head over to www.hailshamfestival.co.uk and browse our online programme.

Happy booking! ➡💻🤳💫





07/06/2026

📚CALLING ALL POETS & WRITERS! 📚

The Hailsham Festival Creative Writing Competition for adults and children returns this year and we'd love you to get involved!

This year the subjects are:

SHORT STORIES:
For over 16's: The Tree
For under 16’s : The Party

POETRY:
For over 16's: Disovery
For under 16’s: Dinosaur

Closing date – Thursday 30th July 2026

All entries should be sent as a Word document by e-mail to Mel Martin at [email protected] with the subject showing as ‘Festival Competition’

For children’s entries, please supply name, first name and age of the child and contact details of parent, carer or guardian so that we can get in touch in the summer holidays if the child is selected.

Hard copies will be accepted if sent FAO Mel Martin C/O Gallery North, 70 High Street, Hailsham, BN27 1AX (or you can hand deliver during Gallery opening times (Thurs to Sat 10am – 4pm)

For further information please click the link below:
https://hailshamfestival.co.uk/event/creative-writing-competitions-2/

A prize-giving ceremony will take place on Tuesday, September 15th at 2.30pm in Callenders Restaurant, when the winners will be announced and all prizes, as well as the Pam Turner Cup, will once again be awarded.

As well as our Competition we welcome the return of The Downland Poets for a relaxing afternoon listening to a selection of poetry produced by their members. This event usually includes an Open Mic, where, if time allows, any non-members of the group may read out anything they have written.





✨ The Pretty Woman Experience – A Night of Glamour, Romance, and Pure Feel-Good Cinema ✨Some films don’t age — they simp...
05/03/2026

✨ The Pretty Woman Experience – A Night of Glamour, Romance, and Pure Feel-Good Cinema ✨

Some films don’t age — they simply glow. And Pretty Woman is still glowing magnificently.

Join us at Hailsham Pavilion for The Pretty Woman Experience, a sparkling evening built around one of the most beloved romantic comedies ever made. Expect a complimentary glass of prosecco on arrival, music from the film to set the mood, and a fun pre-show quiz with a fabulous prize up for grabs.

Dress up if you fancy it, bring your friends, and settle in for a night of laughter, nostalgia, and that unmistakable Hollywood magic.

📅 Thursday 26 March
🕢 7:30pm
🎟️ https://hailshampavilion.co.uk/events/the-pretty-woman-experience/

Romance, sparkle, big smiles — and a film that reminds us just how joyful cinema can be.

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