The spirt of Sea Fest was a perfect fit at its stunning new Connaught Gardens venue.
Festival goers, community groups and performers have been sharing their love of Sidmouth’s homegrown festival by the sea.
Unprecedented numbers of local people turned out to support, visitors to Sidmouth were wowed by what Sidmouth has to offer. Many also commented on how beautiful Connaught Gardens is appreciating the hard work of Street Scene and Sidmouth In Bloom who design, plant and maintain them.
Messages of thanks and support have been flooding into Sidmouth Coastal Community Hub – Sea Fest producers with thanks for a fantastic day and huge appreciation for the true festival vibes that took Sea Fest to a new level.
Everyone loved the site and its sea themed decor and there were many more firsts, not just the location, wall to wall sunshine, a very romantic marriage proposal, mermaids in wheelbarrows and an avenue of jellyfish.
The opening free DJ night in the Main Arena was buzzing and provided a much needed Sidmouth venue for younger people alongside being a networking event with DJ SUV mentoring and guests promoters, venues and organisations supporting grassroots music .
Organisers Sidmouth Coastal Community Hub creatively used the garden’s spaces to make a magical exploration from the Boatyard with boats, seagulls and The Clamship DJ booth, art workshops with Sidmouth’s street artist Steve McCracken and South West Water on hand to listen and engage with the community.
The Sea Fest Flea in the sunken garden was home to a variety of locally made and recycled jewellery and crafts and the brand new ClockTower Stage platformed local musical talent The Naughty Steps, Blue Honey, The McSmiths and 16-year-old Finlay from Sidmouth College. With the iconic archway overlooking the sea, the Clocktower Café’s special Sea Fest menu was the perfect accompaniment to such a rich pool of coastal talent.
Children and adults could take a stroll along the Discovery Trail to listen to the sounds of the sea, type a message in a bottle, find an Octopus’s garden and plenty more fish in the trees! The trail continued to find Sidmouth In Bloom making butterflies for Sidmouth’s floral borders and the Walking Festival got people ready for East Devon’s bests walks, Storytellers spun their tales overlooking the beach and happy bubbles on the platform by the Cactus House entertained.
Families kept the artists and their helpers busy all day in Creativity on the Coast making sea monsters and coastal coasters, faces painted and a host of local groups sharing what they do so well to look after people and planet from Sidmouth’s Repair Café, Devon Wildlife Trust and Clean Jurassic and their pair of Mermaids – who unable to walk on their tails – were transported across the site in a wheel barrow to the delight of all.
The pathway alongside the lawn was transformed into a magical avenue of Jelly Fish spectacularly lit at night.
All roads led to the main arena where the bar was busy and folk were fed in the sunshine to a truly multigenre, multigenerational, multicultural musical experience opened by children from Sidmouth Primary School making their Connaught Gardens stage debuts and the 45 strong, much loved Sidmouth Sea Fest Community Choir led by Sidmouth’s exceptional choir leader Tess Bisson.
Throughout the day and evening the programme offered a “sea spot” to emerging and established musical talent from all walks, with young bands, DJs, solo artists, hip hop, folk, and reggae. Among many highlights was the Samba Band with East Devon Dance Academy who took over the lawn with their vibrant, energetic, beautifully choreographed performances.
Sea Fest also had its first ever marriage proposal – which happened impromptu at the Sea Fest Merch Stall, though news travelled fast and the happy couple were soon on the main stage. The packed crowd was loved up to witness a repeat proposal, an emotional moment that won’t be forgotten. The couple, from Wiltshire, Theresa Giles and Stuart Bridgman-Daw fed back that their Sea Fest experience and all the love they received will stay with them forever.
Typical of the many comments received
“What an awesome town!” “A fabulous day!” “Fantastic festival for our lovely community.” “Perfect Location.” “Loved it at Connaught!”
Performer Anthony Lexa said “What a pleasure to have returned to my roots and performed at Sea Fest this weekend. Its grassroots festivals like these who keep the music industry heart beating. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world, what an energy. Also what a location to be singing your heart out looking at the Jurassic Coast.”
Sidmouth Coastal Community Hub - Festival Director, Louise Cole said;
We are so pleased and grateful to the community, to contributors, to our amazing team of over 70 volunteers, to our amazing performers, suppliers and sponsors. So much has gone into making the new site work and it paid off, everyone loved it. Sea Fest has grown but retains its community spirit and we are so pleased to have been able to provide the opportunity for so many young people to perform and that so many young people in Sidmouth had a brilliant festival time.”
Coco Hodgkinson, Festival and Artistic Director added; “Connaught has so many spaces to explore, its heartening to hear so much about how people loved the creative passion that went into site décor, the Discovery Trail was enjoyed by all ages with little children, teenagers, parents and grandparents experiencing the immersive trail, it was magical and we hope a beautiful way to engage everyone with our environmental message that is such a central part of Sea Fest.”
Tara Greifenberg, Marketing Director and Stage Manager: “We have been ambitious and innovative to curate an amazing line up from the choir to the Clam Ship djs. There were so many joyous moments, the Chilean family performance, young bands who fed off the fantastic audience to give their best, The Barefoot Bandits welcoming the dancing crowd on stage, seeing so many folk in the garden at the Clock Tower stage swaying to the good vibes. And of course the stunning finale from our Saturday night headliner Dr Meaker. It’s a privilege to work with so much talent and a joy to share it with Sidmouth.”