Festivalseason is upon us (especially in Brighton)

Many people who know me, know that I love going to concerts and festivals so I obviously wanted to attend at least one of them while I was in the UK. So I did some research prior to my trip and I stumbled across something called ‘The Great Escape festival’

The Great Escape Festival is a music held throughout the entire city of Brighton every year in May. It showcases new music from a variety of genres. The festival was founded in 2006 and roughly hosts 300 bands across 30 venues throughout the city. It’s similar to a festival concept we know and love back in the Netherlands called ‘Eurosonic Noorderslag’ in Groningen and ‘Popronde’ where different new and upcoming bands and artists play in venues all across the city.

I bought a ticket together with three friends who were planning on visiting me in Brighton so we combined their stay with the festival. We saw artists ranging from quite well known rock bands to local buskers chasing their dreams and all of them blew my mind equally. Brighton really knows its music scene.

During my stay I got even more excited about the festivals after locals told me about the ‘Brighton Festival’ and the ‘Brighton Fringe’.

Brighton Festival

'Brighton Festival has been at the forefront... an arts festival that makes connections with the real world' - The Times

Brighton Festival is an annual celebration of music, theatre, dance, circus, art, film, literature, debate, outdoor and family events - taking place in venues both familiar and unusual across Brighton & Hove for three weeks every May, this year the festival took place from 4-26 May.

Now one of Europe’s leading arts festivals, Brighton Festival is known for its ambitious and daring programme that aims to make the most of the city’s distinctive cultural atmosphere, drawing some of the most innovative artists and companies (and adventurous audiences) from the UK and around the world.

I wanted to indulge myself in as many festival and fringe activities.

Artists open houses: Over 1500 artists and makers exhibit their work in artists’ homes and studios – providing snapshots into the world of the city’s artists. The Artists Open Houses offer festival goers the chance to meet the artists and to view locally made, seriously good arts and crafts. Visiting Open Houses offers the chance to chat to the artists and to buy work directly from them. The hugely diverse range of artwork on show includes paintings, prints, photography, sculpture, installation and performance, as well as ceramics, textiles, jewellery and work in many other media. Plus, I love seeing other people’s houses and seeing how they decorated and furnished their homes.

I went to an open house called the ‘le Roy art gallery’, the world’s first 3D gallery. Le Roy portrays fantasy characters with a twist. Disney, but not as we know it. Snow white, Sleeping Beauty and Tinkerbell find themselves in the disenchanted here and now. Wandering through mental wards, hospitals and crime scenes.

Old school red/blue 3D glasses need to be worn to see the effect which allows visitors to explore through the narrow corridors.

Brighton fringe

Brighton Fringe is the largest arts festival in England; it sets out to entertain, stimulate and educate a wide audience by providing a showcase for diverse art forms across four (!) weeks. Performers pay a one-off registration fee to be included in the programme, which is neither curated nor artistically directed by the central Brighton Fringe team. Brighton Fringe Ltd is a registered charity and an organisation that supports artists, venues, producers and audiences. The central organisation works with a network of performers, artists, venue managers & producers to encourage artistic diversity, quality and innovation within the programme.

Brighton Fringe started as an extension to the Brighton Festival’s curated programme in 1967 and worked as a showcase for local artists, performers and promoters. Brighton Fringe grew so considerably that it became a company and festival in its own right in 2006.

The festival is a registered charity that looks to support and educate artists and producers to promote the arts to a wider audience.

Brighton & Hove has held fringe activity since Brighton Festivals’ creation in 1967. Over the years this has grown significantly and been presented in a number of different ways: ‘Fringe’, ‘Umbrella’, ‘The Open’ and ‘Brighton Festival Fringe’ in 2002. It got appointed an independent board of directors and the name changed to 'Brighton Fringe' in 2012. This made the difference between the two festivals very clear: Brighton Festival is a series of curated and programmed events; Brighton Fringe, however, provides open access to everyone who wants to take part.

Whereas the Brighton festival is a bit more commercial and family friendly, during the Brighton Fringe you can find the strangest and most eccentric performances if you know where to look.

Let’s start off with a family friendly one, shall we? (to keep it light)

Guru Dudu’s silent disco walking tours: Apart from the annual silent disco at Lowlands festival in the Netherlands, I had never been to a ‘walking tour’ silent disco. My friend Leonie and I decided to do something fun for her last full weekend in Brighton and joined the walking tour on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Everyone wears headphones (supplied) and listens to the same playlist of uplifting dance music from the 70’s, 80’s & 90’s, plus the fun commentary from the tour guide while singing and dancing through the busy streets of Brighton.

Spiegeltent: ‘we’ll be a little bit different and a lot the same’. The Brighton Spiegeltent is filled with inclusivity, acceptance and a lot of drag over the course of 4 weeks. I was intrigued so I did some research and chose the event that sounded the most interesting to me (which happened to be the most popular one as well).

So that's how I went to Brighton’s big drag pageant, where 30 of Brighton’s most talented performing drag queens compete as they go through four rounds – walk way, talent show, Q&A and lip sync – to show off their skills and sass to win the crown, title, cash & fame.