Rat Pack Charity Dinner Dance Thursday 11th November 2010 Tickets Priced at £30.00 per head Live Entertainment with Paul James In Aid of Help for Heroes For more informati<strong>on</strong> please visit www.pelhamho<str<strong>on</strong>g>us</str<strong>on</strong>g>e.com 6 0
ocToBer FeasT 10 days of foodie heaven It started, for me, with a ph<strong>on</strong>e call, back in March. It was T<strong>on</strong>y, from the S<str<strong>on</strong>g>now</str<strong>on</strong>g>drop Inn. “A few of <str<strong>on</strong>g>us</str<strong>on</strong>g> are thinking of starting up a food and drink festival in <strong>Lewes</strong>,” he said. “Do <strong>Viva</strong> want to get involved?” “You bet,” was the answer, or words to that effect, and pretty so<strong>on</strong> I was at the first meeting to disc<str<strong>on</strong>g>us</str<strong>on</strong>g>s matters. There were about ten of <str<strong>on</strong>g>us</str<strong>on</strong>g> there, mostly involved in some way in the food ind<str<strong>on</strong>g>us</str<strong>on</strong>g>try in town. Everybody there, importantly, adhered to the same food philosophy. If people buy locally produced wares from local shops, rather than flown-in stuff from the supermarkets, it’s better for the local ec<strong>on</strong>omy, better for the envir<strong>on</strong>ment at large, and, in the l<strong>on</strong>g run, better for the c<strong>on</strong>sumer too. So the festival should be <str<strong>on</strong>g>us</str<strong>on</strong>g>ed as a showcase for the rich variety of stuff produced and sold, raw and cooked, around <strong>Lewes</strong>. Pl<str<strong>on</strong>g>us</str<strong>on</strong>g> we could bring a number of visitors to <strong>Lewes</strong>, who would spend m<strong>on</strong>ey here, and might decide to come again. And, of course, every<strong>on</strong>e loves a party. We decided, at that very meeting, to call the festival the ‘Octoberfeast’. That was <str<strong>on</strong>g>now</str<strong>on</strong>g> many meetings ago and since then, though sometimes things seem to have moved incrementally slowly, a fantastic schedule has taken shape, and is still taking shape. Paddock Producti<strong>on</strong>s are putting <strong>on</strong> two different foodrelated plays (including the Bright<strong>on</strong>-Festival hit Shakespeare à la Carte); the Film Club are putting <strong>on</strong> a couple of fine films; there are speakers and dem<strong>on</strong>strati<strong>on</strong>s galore; there’s stuff <strong>on</strong> in Harvey’s, including tours of the brewery and a ‘dancing in the Old’ afterno<strong>on</strong>; there are Norman and Tudor banquets in <strong>Lewes</strong>’ historic buildings; there’s a ‘food crawl’ round some of <strong>Lewes</strong>’ best pubs; w w w. V I VA l E w E s . C o M F o o D there’s an apple press to turn your windfalls to juice; there’s a day-l<strong>on</strong>g pickling event, called ‘Pickled’; there’s a kids’ art competiti<strong>on</strong>, to be exhibited in shop fr<strong>on</strong>ts around town. There’s even a tea dance, in the Town Hall, to raise m<strong>on</strong>ey for the Mayor’s charities. Apart from a genero<str<strong>on</strong>g>us</str<strong>on</strong>g> grant of £1,000 from the Town Council, and another for the apple press, the festival organisers have had no m<strong>on</strong>ey to put into the event (it’s equally important to say that the organisati<strong>on</strong> is a not-for-profit affair) so we’ve pulled in a number of groups to organise their own events under the umbrella of the Octoberfeast Festival. There’s a website up (lewesoctoberfeast. com) to let you k<str<strong>on</strong>g>now</str<strong>on</strong>g> what’s scheduled, with blogs and other informati<strong>on</strong>, too. We’re <str<strong>on</strong>g>us</str<strong>on</strong>g>ing the Market Tower as our HQ, and there will be a successi<strong>on</strong> of events <strong>on</strong> there, courtesy of the <strong>Lewes</strong> Food Group, which organises a market there every Friday morning. Rocket FM have got involved, too, and are starting up their popular annual broadcast a week early (for internet access <strong>on</strong>ly) to cover the festival events. Inaugural events are always worrying things, when you’re an event organiser, when you d<strong>on</strong>’t realise whether all the hours and days and weeks and m<strong>on</strong>ths of preparati<strong>on</strong> is going to be worth it. The biggest figure in the equati<strong>on</strong> is the public, which, by and large, means you. We urge you to get involved in the party, in <strong>on</strong>e way or another, to ensure that it’s a success, and to ensure in turn that it becomes an annual event. As it says in the blurb, it’s all in the best possible taste. Alex Leith www.lewesoctoberfeast.com 6 1
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