Festivals

The desire for distant and lost sensations is what brings thousands of visitors to the Herstmonceux Medieval Festival every year.  The largest three-day celebration of the Middle Ages offers an immersive, compelling journey into history's forgotten chapters.

Hastings' Jack in the Green Festival of Morris Dancing is a similarly overwhelming experience.  The festival's centrepiece is its May Day climax where a glorious parade of dancers, drummers, sweeps and 'bogeys' follow 'the Jack', a symbolic representation of Spring that's slain in the hilltop of ruins of Hastings Castle to release the spirit of the Summer.

Savour tastes of the world at a spectacular celebration of a vibrant community, St Leonards Festival.  Wonder at the stunning music, food and activities and enjoy a jaw-dropping finale on a balmy summer evening.

The Pashley Manor Gardens Tulip Festival bursts onto the scene in a riot of colour at the end of April, kicking off their extensive programme of events which runs until September.

Get back to nature and take part in one of the many wildlife events organised during the week long RX Wildlife Festival in several local beauty spots including Rye Harbour Nature Reserve and Hastings Country Park.  Many events are free or donation only and there's something to interest all the family.

Enjoy an unusual and entertaining day out in July by following the Battle Scarecrow Festival trail, with over 60 scatty scarecrows to discover around the town centre.

Coastal Currents returns for a twelfth year, (27 August-30 September) showcasing a wide-range of art exhibitions, performances and events throughout Hastings & St Leonards and Rother to enchant local people and visitors to the area alike.

Learn from the best at our popular Seafood and Wine Festival, a highlight of the Autumn.  With a suitably sophisticated mix of music and other entertainment to complement the local produce on offer, this one is not to be missed!

Battle Abbey is the staging ground for an elaborate Re-enactment of the Battle of Hastings every October that draws hundreds of specialist performers from around Europe.  If there's one season when the towns of 1066 Country truly come alive it has to be late Autumn.

The Rye Arts Festival, which celebrates its 40^th anniversary in 2011, has been voted one of the 50 best summer festivals in the world. Over a fortnight in September a packed programme features classical music, literary talks, contemporary music, art exhibitions, walks and a whole lot more, including children’s events.

The Hastings Bonfire and Fireworks Display is a truly awesome sight that begins with a wild and spectacular procession through the town's narrow streets and culminates in a pyrotechnic fantasia that enthrals tens of thousands of people from all over the UK and Europe.  The market town Battle holds its own bonfire celebrations shortly afterwards and Robertsbridge and Rye also have celebrations which bring the season to a spectacular close.

Winter is barely a frosted breath away and there are late night shopping events in all of 1066 Country's towns with Battle High Street being transformed into a Dickensian wonderland for the night, a magical Christmas event in Rye and an open-air ice rink and reindeer in Hastings town centre!