Jack shares this latest update for the 2017 Ventnor Fringe Festival. Ed
Over 120 Acts Announced for Ventnor Fringe!
The Isle of Wight’s most diverse creative arts festival, Ventnor Fringe, will return for its eighth outing, between 8th and 13th August, playing host to a record-breaking 120 acts (and rising!).
With pop-up bars and venues created throughout the town for the whole week, the Fringe will be hosting everything from historical drama to bingo hosted by puppets!
Festival Director, Jack Whitewood, said,
“From yoga in the park each morning to DJs on the harbour at sunset, the Ventnor Fringe is an opportunity to completely re-imagine how we use our urban spaces, and aims to make one of our Island towns come alive like never before.
“Get down to the south coast and re-discover Ventnor, it’s becoming a really special place.”
Little Mammoths doing big things
The Fringe programme is broader than ever, but leading the music proceedings is none other than London rock ‘n’ rollers Little Mammoths. Fronted by ex-Noah and the Whale member Matt Owens, Little Mammoths have played on some of the world’s biggest stages, including a date at Glastonbury this year, and will close the Parkside Stage on Sunday night.
Popular Island promoters Vaguely Sunny will be bringing BBC Young Folk Award winner Brighde Chaimbeul to St Catherine’s Church on Thursday 10th August.
Brighde has performed across the country with both Scottish small pipes and Highland pipes.
Marionettes and poets
Elsewhere The Adventures of Prince Achmed, uses shadow puppets and live traditional Arabian music to tell a fairytale based on The Arabian Nights and London’s String Theatre bring a beautiful new marionette show ‘The Water Babies’.
Island favourites Donna Jones MBE and Joan Ellis are one of just many local artists represented and will be performing their new show ‘False Teeth. Fake Fur. True Love’ at the Ventnor Winter Gardens’ Long Room, following on from their very popular show at the Fringe last year.
Going La La
Also on the festival’s extensive programme is an outdoor screening of La La Land, an exhibition in a shipping container, a 1930’s Parisian bus transformed into a book shop and a warehouse gig hosted by Chalkpit Records among many more exciting things to see and do.
Tickets for all of the announced shows can be purchased from the Website, with more events being added to the website regularly.
Ventnor International Festival
This year, the Fringe will also coincide with the all-new Ventnor International Festival (VIF), taking place across multiple venues on Friday 11th August. Billed as the Island’s take on The Great Escape Festival in Brighton, it will feature performances from the likes of Childhood, The Parrots, Cosmo Pyke, Girl Ray and Ventnor’s own CHAMPS.
Tickets to access all of the VIF venues are £30 and selling fast! Find out more on the Website.
Image: © Tobias Penner
