Sunday 25th July - Saturday 31st July 2010
Box Office: 01263 712635 open Monday - Saturday 10.00am - 2.00pm
E-mail: enquiry@holtsummerfestival.org
News Archive
April 2010
The finishing touches are almost complete for this year’s programme which is more extensive and varied than we could have imagined! Please check the Programme section for an over view of what you can expect this year with full details available on the website in early May. Do check back regularly or sign up to the mailing list for updates and news.
The brochure is well underway and will be available from early May, do look out for a copy as you shop in Holt or visit the area. Copies will also be available from the Box Office at Cockertons Chartered Surveyors on the High Street in Holt when it opens to the public on 1st June and on 17th May for priority booking for Friends and Sponsors.
We continue to be astounded by the level of support for the Festival, be it through sponsorship, which has easily outweighed last year, our new Friends Scheme or advertising in the brochure. All this allows Tony Britten, Artistic Director, to constantly improve and extend the programme. It is not too late to become a Friend and benefit from priority booking and special ticket deals; please see the Friends section for more details and an application form.
Our call for volunteers continues, do contact us if you would like to be involved with the Festival and see the Volunteers section for more information. There are many ways in which you can become involved and your support will be much appreciated. We are particularly keen to establish a dedicated team of Box Office volunteers this year, if you would be interested in being involved with this and would like further information please contact us.
February 2010
Holt Summer Festival Launch Party took place at Gresham's School on Thursday 11th February. Around 150 people from local businesses and the community came to hear about the new Festival initiatives and the outline programme for this year.
Please select thumbnail to see larger image and photograph details All photography Helen May, Holt Summer Festival |
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Gresham's Headmaster, Philip John, welcomed guests to the Launch and introduced Rhu Bruce Lockhart, Chairman of Holt Summer Festival. Rhu thanked Gresham’s School for their generous hospitality in hosting the Launch and for their continued support of the Festival. He also thanked Mike Strong, Gresham's Catering Manager, and his team, for serving excellent canapés and Mark Jones, Head of Music, who played piano accompanied by pupils Jamie Wright (violin) and Betty Jones (cello) during the evening. He went on to talk about the strong financial position the Festival is already in compared to this time last year. Promises of over £50,000 so far from individuals and local businesses, shows how well the local community has taken the Festival to its heart. The generosity of sponsors, philanthropists and volunteers has been overwhelming and the Festival is extremely grateful for this continuing support.
Tony Britten, Artistic Director, introduced the programme and explained how this year’s Festival will again be an eclectic and exciting mix of programming, ensuring there will be something for everyone and always of the highest possible standard. There will be two themes running through the programme this year 'anniversaries' and 'guitar and plucked instruments'. This is a year full of anniversaries of the births and deaths of notable writers, composers and artists. A celebration of these will continue throughout the Festival.
A brief taster of what to expect this year can be found under the Programme section. Please join the mailing list to be kept up-to-date with the latest information.
The new Festival Friends Scheme was announced which offers special deals on tickets and advanced booking. For details please see the Friends section. Improved benefits to the Sponsors Scheme were also announced, details of which can be found at the Sponsors section.
December 2009
The Holt Summer Festival will take place from July 25th to July 31st 2010. The first announcements concerning headline events and programmes will be made on February 11th 2010. Artistic Director Tony Britten has been busy filming for much of November and December but will be devoting the first six weeks of the New Year to developing the 2010 Festival programme. He already has some exciting ideas.
A new Board of Trustees has been formed to ensure proper governance (with due regard to our Charitable status), to provide a sound underpinning of the Festival’s finances, and to support the Festival’s appointed Management Team.
Karen Hall, our new Festival Manager, is already energetically into her stride. Mary Hunt has enthusiastically taken over from Susannah Thompson as Free Events Manager, and Stewart Cato is the new Production Manager. Caro Flower is in charge of Sponsor Relations, and James Glennie has joined us as Manager, Visual Arts, to try and bring another dimension to the Festival.
Meanwhile, Festival fundraisers have made a good start. Sponsors, enthused by last year’s success, have so far pledged £40,000 (+ 60%) and we have also received a great boost from the North Norfolk Community Partnership who awarded us a £5,000 grant (details below). Offers of help continue to come in and we are hopeful of further inflows at the Sponsor Launch in February. Advertising, fundraising activities, box office revenues and underwritten events will add to our budget. If you are interested in helping as Sponsor, please call Rhu Bruce Lockhart on 01263 861201; as advertiser please call Helen May on 01263 860571; or as Friend, call Caro Flower on 01263 860324. Please also have a look at our Sponsors page for more details.
North Norfolk Community Partnership Grant
Holt Summer Festival is delighted to announce the award of a £5,000 grant from the North Norfolk Community Partnership. Festival Chairman Rhu Bruce Lockhart writes: “The Community Partnership’s generosity helps to secure the future of the Festival as an annual event. We are also encouraged by this endorsement of the success of our inaugural year and our ambitions for the future. The NNCP is funded by rates from second homes in the region, and this grant will clearly benefit holidaymakers as well as residents; with more people holidaying in the UK because of the state of the economy and adverse exchange rates, it is important for us to make sure that we are able to offer visitors good reasons to return to North Norfolk year after year. The Holt Summer Festival is very grateful to NNCP and the NNDC Arts Department for their continuing encouragement and support – both financial and in-kind.”
October 2009
Following the success of this year's inaugural Festival plans are currently underway to develop the Festival for 2010.
A Board of Trustees has been appointed to oversee the running of the Festival and underpin funding. In addition, a new committee is in place, details of which can be seen on the contacts page.
This year will see the introduction of a Festival Friends Scheme, offering an opportunity for individuals to contribute towards the Festival. Full details will be announced soon. Benefits will include membership of the new Festival Club, to be based at the Lawns Hotel. The Festival Club will offer the opportunity for socialising during Festival week.
The Festival Sponsorship Scheme has been developed for 2010, please see the Sponsors page for details.
To keep up-to-date with all the Festival news please join our mailing list.