Welcome to Henfield’s Festival of Gardens and Arts 2016
Henfield has lots of wonderful community events throughout the year, but for me the Garden and Arts weekend has to be my favourite. This festival, which this year takes place on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 June, is the perfect eclectic mix of inspiring gardens, diverse music, delicious food and gorgeous arts and crafts, all rounded off with a glass or two of Pimms!
The indispensable guide to the whole weekend is the Blue Guide which is available now in High Street shops, the library and the Village Hall. You can follow the trail around the village discovering favourite old gardens as well as gardens that are new to the festival this year. The gardens on display range from small to large and traditional to modern, but all demonstrate a creativity and passion for gardening and there is plenty of inspiration to suit all tastes. For plant-a-holics many gardens will be hosting plant stalls and the Henfield Garden Club will be hosting a plant swap (as well as sales) on the Sunday at Red Oaks.
Henfield is home to a number of very creative artists and the variety of talents on show each year at Garden and Arts is always amazing: Paintings, photographs, jewellery, ceramics, tapestry, patchwork, knitting, silk scarves, sculpture and soft furnishings are just some of the arts and crafts being showcased over the course of the weekend with many available to buy. The Henfield Haven is hosting many artists and crafts folk, and both the Sussex Watercolour Society are exhibiting in the Henfield Hall.
to also open up their much used Snooker Room to exhibit small and large format hangings and 3d works. This along with the upstairs hall and room it has considerably increased the spaces available for artists to display.
If music is your thing then there is lots of of it being performed over the weekend in various locations including jazz, classical guitar, acapella, carnival, percussion, rock and blues, pop, country and western, saxophone and a variety of different choral styles – you name it and we’ve got it going on the village! The weekend finishes off in style at Red Oaks on the Sunday evening where you can enjoy a glass of Pimms whilst listening to a Sussex based trio performing songs from the 1930’s through to the 1950’s.
There are various special events taking place over the weekend too: why not visit the Henfield Library on Saturday and discover the peaceful pastime of adult colouring? Or the lovely open space that is the Tanyard Field on Saturday afternoon where you can spot an abundance of wildlife. There are three local walks taking place in and around the village and and the Henfield sheep are out exploring the gardens for children to find!
Although not the main focus, food always plays a large part in the Garden and Arts weekend and this year is no exception. Delicious lunches, cream teas, and home-made cakes and biscuits will be available to purchase in many of the gardens and the High Street pubs and cafes will also be open all weekend giving you a chance to sample our wonderful local cuisine.
Every year the Garden and Arts festival raises money for a local charity and this year the beneficiary will be the Henfield Haven – a fantastic community initiative which was re-launched last November. The Haven will be hosting artists and music throughout the weekend, so do pop in to find out more about this wonderful resource.
The best way to get around the village is on foot or by bike as parking is extremely limited in many places. For those with limited mobility the Henfield Community minibus will be taking a circular route around the village, stopping on demand: see the Blue Guide for more information.
Sarah Butler
