The Rye Arts Festival (RAF) may be nearly as old as the hills – this year is the 46th annual event – but it is still breaking new ground. In September the Festival is using two new venues in the Rye area: Rye Cricket Pavilion on the North Salts and Rye Harbour Sailing Club.
On Friday September 22 at 8:30pm the one-time enfant terrible of the magazine world, James Brown, will be talking in the Rye Cricket Pavilion on North Salts about his lifelong love of football and the five-a-side version in particular. And a week later at 5:30pm on Friday September 29, Dr Barry Yates, the warden of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, will be giving a talk from the recently refurbished Rye Harbour Sailing Club which afford views out over the Reserve.
James Brown cut his teeth on music magazine NME before launching Loaded and then editing British GQ, breaking the mould of magazine publishing and unleashing the lads’ mag phenomenon. As a journalist who made the rules, James broke many too and played as hard as he worked. Today he hosts a talkSPORT weekly chat show, eats breathes and sleeps his beloved Leeds Utd FC, and still finds time to play five-a-side football three times a week. He has written an insightful, funny and best-selling book about this lifelong passion and pastime called Above Head Height (which of course isn’t allowed in five-a-side).
After the talk, it is planned to hold a five-a-side game between James’ invitation team and a Rye side. Beers will follow!
Barry Yates hardly needs an introduction and he will be talking about current activity at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, which attracts 300,000 visitors a year, plus the hugely exciting plans for a brand new, state-of-the-art, sustainable Discovery Centre on the site of the current cramped and dilapidated centre. He will be joined by Alastair Fairley, a well-known local journalist who is chair of the Appeal Board for the new Discovery Centre.
This will be a chance to see what the plans are and how work is progressing, as well as a look-see into the Rye Sailing Club, which recently raised more than £100,000 for major works, including full disabled access.
Mike Eve, chairman of RAF says: “We are very excited to be using two new venues, both of which have recently had major renovations. It will be great to hear more about the amazing plans for Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, and I am sure that this will be the first time that five-a-side football has ever featured in the Festival. These are two events which I am very much looking forward to and as both venues aren’t huge, tickets are likely to sell very quickly.”
More information on all the 60-plus events that make up the RAF is available and tickets can be bought online or telephone the Box Office on 01797 224442.
Photos: Rye Arts Festival
Image Credits: Rye News library .