The Isle of Arts Festival is upon us and ready to serve up four days of culture to festival-goers in Ventnor.
Opening the Festival
Celebrity gardener, Monty Don is opening the festival at 6.30pm when he’ll be talking about his life and travels visiting gardens all over the world, what really happens behind the scenes when filming, about how he made his own organic garden from a bare field and more. This event is now SOLD OUT.
An evening of storytelling
There’s a chance to gather round, get comfortable and experience some 100 year old tales, re-imagined for the modern world from Isle of Wight actor and story-teller Eltjo de Vries. He’ll be choosing from the 200 stories by the brothers Grimm at Ventnor Arts Club.
Diverse range of music
How about some folk music from Island band The Dollymopps to kick off the Friday’s events, followed by a mini-folk festival for the rest of the evening, curated by the Island’s queen of folk, Becky Haydock?
Or perhaps a concert of classical Nordic music is more your thing? Rudi Eastwood (no relation to the actor) has put together a programme of music that celebrates the talents of composers Edvard Grieg (Norway), Jean Sibelius (Finland), Heino Eller (Estonia) and Christian Sinding (Norway) and Tchaikovsky.
Contemporary jazz
Failing that, how about some quality jazz from Kyle Eastwood (yes, the eldest son of actor Clint Eastwood).
At the forefront of the modern jazz, he’ll be joined by his long-time band, featuring pianist Andrew McCormack, saxophonist Graeme Blevins, trumpeter Quentin Collins, and drummer Martyn Kaine for an evening of contemporary jazz.
Whatever your taste, there’s bound to be something to take your fancy. Find out more by visiting the Isle of Arts Festival Website. It’s no longer possible to book online, but tickets can be bought in person at Seasons Newsagents on Ventnor High Street, or at the Box Office, 34 Pier Street.
Our thanks to organisers of the Isle of Arts Festival for sponsoring this feature. Please support them, as they and other businesses taking paid promotion enables you to continue reading OnTheWight for free.
