SPOT: Reigate Summer Festival

 SPOT: a slightly different format to the Roundtable discussions where we step back from the debate to Spotlight a Charity or in this case a local arts festival - Reigate Summer Festival with Tim Glynne-Jones. 

A rock set in the mouth of a tunnel, choirs in a church, an art exhibition, and a pop-up photo show inside an estate agent. Reigate Summer Festival is the kind of bold, creative and friendly idea that makes you look at your own town differently, and we’re joined by one of the organisers Tim Glynne-Jones to explain how it all comes together.

We talk through the festival weekend (19 to 21 June) and why the team describe it as a mini Edinburgh in Surrey: music, dance, drama, poetry, literature, film, photography, fashion and more, much of it free to enjoy. Tim shares the longer story too, from launching New Music Nights in 2013 as a platform for original songwriters, to building New Music Fest, and then widening the collaboration so multiple arts organisations can help shape a true general arts festival right in the centre of Reigate.

You’ll get a clear guide to the layout with four key venues and stages, plus a fast-growing fringe of 30+ locations across cafés, bars, shops and community spaces. We also cover the festival’s charity partners, how donations raised around £5,000 last year, and what’s new this year including an upcycled-friendly fashion show at Ivory Lounge, more photography, more art, and low-cost workshops that make it easy to learn something new with friends or kids.

If you like local culture, live music, community arts, and practical ideas you can actually act on, press play, then subscribe, share the episode with a friend in Sussex or Surrey, and leave us a review with your favourite part of the festival.

Please click on 'Send a text' above & join our Facebook group to share your perspective and suggestions for future topics - Thank you for your interest! Clive.

Transcript

Soapbox And Local Spotlight

SPEAKER_01 0:00

The Sussex and Surrey Soapbox in the community. Supporting local charities, social initiatives, and events that make a refreshing difference. Sussex and Surrey Soapbox. Apart from the full episodes and getting into local community issues, we also like to spotlight social initiatives and festivals and fun things happening across Sussex and Surrey.

Meet Reigate Summer Festival

SPEAKER_01 0:22

And with me now I've got Tim Glynn Jones from Rygate Summer Festival. Hello, good morning. Good morning, Clive. Now uh tell me about this festival.

What The Festival Offers

SPEAKER_01 0:30

It's starting literally on the 19th of June. It's been going a couple of years and it's it's quite a collaboration, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 0:36

It's a huge collaboration. The beauty of it is that anyone can get involved. So we started it two years ago. This is the third one. Um and it runs over the weekend of June 19th to 21st. And it's uh it's a general arts festival. We like to think of it as a mini Edinburgh, really, so it's got everything from music to dance, art, fashion, poetry, literature, drama, what else, film. I I'll have missed some things, literature I've said, haven't I?

SPEAKER_01 1:03

Photography. Of course, music, poets, everything. And and it's been it's been growing over the years. I mean, this is the third official year, but it's ha has its roots back into sort of 2013-14, doesn't it?

From New Music Nights To Now

SPEAKER_01 1:14

Tell me about that longer history and how it morphed into what it is today.

SPEAKER_00 1:18

Yeah, okay. Well, I I set up a thing called New Music Nights in 2013, which was a platform for people who wrote music, wrote songs, um, to get out and play their own music. So we've had bands and soloists and all sorts doing that ever since. And the following year we launched a festival at Rygate Rugby Club called New Music Fest, which ran for about 10 years. Um, and then it's just grown with collaboration with other people like Ryegate College and this year the Franklin Music and all these different arts organisations that are around the town uh doing their own thing of coming together to make it a general arts festival right in the middle of Ryegate, so no one can miss it. Um and it's it's just an incredible community event.

Four Stages And 30 Fringe Spots

SPEAKER_01 2:03

Now we're gonna give out the website in just a moment, uh, but also you're using, as you say, right across Rygate, there's four particular venues, and then there's the fringe events as well. Um tell us more about the different sites.

SPEAKER_00 2:15

Yeah, that's exactly right. So the four main stages are the tunnel stage, which is in Tunnel Road, so it's it's an incredible, spectacular stage that's built high up in the mouth of the tunnel. Um, and that's where the the bands tend to be, the the sort of the rock, if you like, um Friday, Saturday, uh a little bit on Sunday morning. Then you've got the clock tower stage, which is on the cobbles right by the lights in the middle of town by Cafe Nero. Um, and we put stage there and we get all sorts of music. We get um, so we've got the slide uh band from um St. Bede's School who've opened there for us the last two years and are just brilliant. Um, and you get all sorts of you get wind bands, you get pop, you get rock, you get all everything. Um, similarly in Cage Yard, so that's the other stage that uh new music nights are running, uh, a similar blend of music. We've got Dixieland, we got reggae, we got it, you know, all the styles. Um and then in the Methodist Church and the community centre behind that, that's kind of our fourth main venue. So you have um choirs, choristers, a bit of ballet, um, and then you've got an art exhibition in the community centre behind that. The fringe venues, and this is the thing I'm delighted about this year because so many venues have come on board saying we want to put something on. So, you know, from estate agents to bars to cafes to whatever, if anyone that's got space, they seem to be wanting to put a bit of music on or put some event on. So we've got photography exhibition in Savile's estate agents, for example, we got a maker's market in Robert Leach. You know, anyone who's got space is now recognising that this is something to be involved in, and so uh there's over 30 fringe venues, I think, of all sorts.

SPEAKER_01 3:54

It's lovely to do a collaboration about positivity, fun, and and congratulations to you and the team for getting the ball rolling and now getting all of these other partners involved.

Charity Partners And Free Access

SPEAKER_01 4:05

Uh, you're also helping and supporting some beneficiaries as well.

SPEAKER_00 4:08

Well, we've got charity partners, so Renewed Hope, Love Works, and the Community Centre itself as a charity. Uh, so they've been our partners for this this is the third year since we started, and there are a lot of charities around, so we, you know, we we should probably rotate that a bit now after this year. But basically, it's an opportunity for them to get out, have a really visible presence, and raise some money. I think last year they raised about £5,000 from donations over the weekend, so I think they're really happy with that.

Where To Get Updates

SPEAKER_01 4:36

Brilliant, and this all gets started on Friday, the 19th of June, and it's largely free, uh, apart from the comedy night and a few other events, but largely it's free. Um, how might people find out more?

SPEAKER_00 4:48

Uh well, there's the website which is RygateSummerfestival.co.uk. Um, if you want, you can subscribe and you get the e-newsletter, which uh you don't get spammed, it goes out about once a month, but it has updates. Uh, we're also on social media at Rygate Summer Festival on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook. So there's regular stuff going out there, that's the best place to find out.

New For This Year

SPEAKER_01 5:10

It's the third year running anything particularly new apart from the fringe events and the other locations, uh, anything that you're excited about this year particularly?

SPEAKER_00 5:19

Yeah, so we um we've introduced fashion show. Um, you know, when you try and think of the arts, well, what other arts are there? Oh fashion, you know, that's an art. Um so we've got a fashion show happening at Ivory Lounge. Um, so anyone who you don't have to actually hand make it, if you can, if you do so, fantastic. Or if you just want to put an outfit together with sort of recycled, upcycled, reimagined clothes, come along and strut your stuff on the catwalk. That's going to be a real glitzy event on the Saturday afternoon. That's brilliant. Photography is another thing we've added this year, which I'm really pleased about. We've got more art uh than ever, uh, which you should have being an arts festival. There are lots of workshops, uh so these are paid things, they're they're dead cheap, they're really good value, and it's a chance to go along and learn and also take your kids along and learn something new. Yeah, lots of new things and lots of exciting things.

SPEAKER_01 6:09

Brilliant.

Final Thoughts And Listener Feedback

SPEAKER_01 6:10

Well, uh, I wish you and the team all the best. Rye Gate Summer Festival kicking of Friday the 19th through to Sunday. Uh, it's gonna be fantastic, and hopefully, the weather holds up for that as well. Thanks very much, Clover. Tell us what do you think? Leave a comment below or click on send a text. Thank you for listening to the Sussex and Surrey soapbox.