SPOT: Reigate Summer Festival

Send us Fan Mail 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.