A community festival involving artists, makers, musicians, performers, writers, poets, digital creators and many other disciplines. We aim to attract contributors, supporters, volunteers and audiences from Rushlake Green and the surrounding areas including Bodle Street Green, Dallington, Turners Green, Punnetts Town, Cade Street, Old Heathfield, Vines Cross, Warbleton, Cowbeech and beyond.
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About Little Arts
How and why we came to be
Who took part
The most recent events and the people who took part
How we did it
How to design, organise and run a community festival
Latest news
AUTHENTIC SUSSEX HARMONIES IN RINGMER
If you missed Sussex Harmony at last year’s Little Arts Festival, there’s another chance to hear them in a concert of 18th and 19th Century music from the pubs and pulpits of rural Sussex with readings from a local farmer’s diaries. Where: Ringmer Village Hall, Lewes...
BIG PLANS FOR THE LITTLE ARTS FESTIVAL WEBSITE
We have big plans for our Little Arts website. Our goal is to make the site place to go for news not just about Little Arts Festival activities, but also information about what’s on in the local area where anyone and everyone involved in any aspect of the arts: music,...
BIG LITTLE ARTS WEEKEND 2025
The Little Arts Festival will be back soon. We’re excited to announce that a mini arts festival is being planned for later this year. The Big Little Arts Weekend will run from Thursday 25th to Sunday 28th September. Things are at an early stage, but we can tell you...
TAYLOR MADE RETURN TO ROCK THE GREEN – 26th July
The legendary Taylormade band had everyone up and dancing the night away when they were featured in the BIG LITTLE GIG at the Little Arts Festival in 2024. From floor-filling classics to the latest chart hits and indie/rock anthems, the band has been setting dance...
AN INVESTMENT CLOSE TO OUR HEARTS
Many of you will remember painter and musician. Chris Liddiard, who was the founder and creator of the first Little Arts Festival in 2016. Chris was sadly diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and died in 2018. We will be making a donation of £500 in his memory from the...
LITTLE ARTS GRANT SCHEME LAUNCHED
Little Arts is pleased to announce the launch of an annual Arts Grant to encourage creativity. Part of the 2024 festival legacy fund is being invested in a scheme to develop the creative skills of local young people and their involvement in the arts. The scheme is...
LITTLE ARTS FESTIVAL ONWARDS & ARTWARDS
As well as providing a memorably varied programme of artistic events over a three week period last September, the 2024 Little Arts Festival also yielded a financial legacy - thanks to all those who supported the project. Yes, the legacy is a very modest one, but it’s...
Blue Murder at the Blue Parrot
The Village Players were delighted to take part in LAF24, closing off the festival with a rip-roaring interactive comedy murder drama. The players invited their audience to don twenties glad rags, bring sleuthing skills, and join them at the Blue Parrot for music,...
THE ART OF ANIME – Wills Whims
Wills's Whims special ANIME class showed how to paint your favourite character with top tips & tricks from tutor Kelly Whills. Attendees were shown ow to create top notch illustrations again and again with these useful techniques and cheats under their belt. They...
CAN I HAVE A WORD PLEASE – Village Players
On 17th August, as part of the festival, the Village Players led a stimulating session of poetry and prose readings. This highlight of the event was the inclusion of readings by several extremely talented local poets and writers. The Village Players segments, people...
BIG LITTLE GIG – Local musicians
On 16th August, for one night only, Little Arts presented a mini-fest of locally-grown talent, featuring Acoustic Guitar; Original Soul; and Groovy Dance Classics. The BIG little GIG featured a fantastic line-up of hugely talented local musicians: Instrumentalist...
EARLY MUSIC VIBES – Pastores Ensemble
The Pastores Ensemble (viols, mandolin, mandola, guitar, recorder, voice), accompanied by soprano Constance Starns, presented a programme of Early Music which included pieces by Tye, Deering, Tomkins, Brade and Lupo. Robert Carrington’s atmospheric ‘I drove East on...
BOOKSHOP BONANZA – Local book clubs
On 11th August, Rushlake Green’s energetic local book clubs got together to organise an informal Book Sale. Avid local readers flocked in to discover heaps of titles to explore and purchase. The event was also a very social occasion with many enjoying a coffee and a...
WHEN 64 WAS FAB – Nothing is Real Band
Featuring the Nothing is Real Band. Dance the night away to the Mersey sounds of the sixties as Nothing is Real play every 1964 Beatles song including the albums A Hard Day's Night and Beatles for Sale, not forgetting the often forgotten EP Long Tall Sally. Nothing is...
KIDS ACTING UP – Pam Edmonds
On 10th August, children of (roughly) primary school age were invited to be part of the festival by coming along to enjoy a range of games and fun drama activities run by Pam Edmonds. Pam is a retired local primary school teacher with many years’ experience. She has...
SWEET SYLVAN SCENES – Judy Tarling
On 10th August, as part of the festival, Judy Tarling presented the story of Heathfield Park in the 1790s. With songs written for Heathfield Park by William Crotch, performed by The Mayfield Consort directed by David Force. 302
GLASS ART CREATIONS – Jazz Dixon
On 10th August Jazz Dixon gave adults a demonstration and workshop of fused glass art, with an opportunity for those attending to try their hand at this inspirational art form. Also, on 23rd August, Jazz provided a fun activity in which children were shown how to...
COME FOLLOW THE BAND – Warbleton Brass Band
On 9th August, for those who had always wondered how these great brass bands prepare for their concerts, the audience members were invited to an open rehearsal by the Warbleton Brass Band. They saw behind the scenes of a typical rehearsal night, followed the score and...
YOUR STORIES IN SONG – Milton Hide
On 8th August, as part of the 2024 festival, Milton Hide (Jim Tipler and Jo Church) transported their audience into a world of stories with original songs. For 'Your Stories In Song’ Milton Hide invited audience members to share their stories, be they personal...
TIMES LIKE THESE – WarbleSingers
On 7th August, as par t of the 2024 festival, the WarbleSingers Community Choir gave an eclectic concert of popular music and folk songs The choir celebrated its 8th birthday in the summer of 2024 - and their very first concert was at the first Little Arts Festival in...
DISSOCIATION STATION – PRESENTED BY ‘RADIO’
As part of the 2024 festival, our very own dimension-travelling broadcaster 'Radio' presented live transmissions, on successive Monday Nights, from a secret location in Rushlake Green. Here's what they said about the shows: " We are a Dimension hopping Radio station,...
MASTERS IN OILS – SUE BRANCH
On 5th August, as part of the 2024 festival, local artist Sue Branch gave a talk about oil techniques and materials. For those with little or no experience of the medium, contemporary oil painter Sue Branch offered an informative and stimulating introduction to oil...
WALK & SKETCH
Local artist Mark Austin ran a series of sketching sessions that invited participants to get hands on with charcoal and paper whilst also walking around locations that connect with the history of the village and its communities through the ages. The walk and sketch...
THE PATTERN OF THE YEAR
A concert by the very popular Sussex Harmony ensemble, performed in authentic rural costumes and held in the atmospheric setting of Warbleton Church. This well attended event combined accomplished musical rendition with fascinating stories and readings that brought to...