Hurst's panto WILL go on!

By Anne Hopper, Press and Publicity Officer

The Players are now well into socially distanced rehearsals for a first-ever ‘virtual pantomime’. You may well have spotted members of the cast if you’ve been out and about in the village this month. To comply with the Covid 19 rules during the lockdown, due to end on December 2nd, most of our preparations are taking place outdoors. We have a large cast of 33 local adults and 12 children and true to Panto tradition, Robin will be played by Daisy Swayne.

All are experienced stage actors now learning the new techniques of working for the screen under the direction of Sam Nixon. Not to mention the songs and dances, and it’s fair to say the latter is proving the greater challenge to most of the adult cast with Nurse Nora dispensing more than usual alcohol rubs to the ‘men in tights’.

Tickets will be free and performances will be screened through the Players Website between Christmas Eve and January 1st at 3pm and 7pm.

www.hurstplayers.org.uk

Hurst Christmas Event: 7th Dec 2019

It’s a Wonderful Hurst

By Matt Rosine

Known affectionately this year as ‘It’s a Wonderful Hurst’, the annual High Street Christmas Fair is just 12 days away! The festivities will kick off with the road closure at 4pm on 7th December, lasting until 7pm.

There is so much to be excited about, and all of the traders can’t wait to celebrate with you and your family!

Santa will be making a very grand appearance in one of the coolest grottos you’ve ever seen, and we’ve got live entertainment from one of the best ten-piece soul bands in Sussex, The Saviours of Soul, as well as from local favourites the Straw Dogs! There will of course be Christmas Carol singing, and the ladies from a capella group Codabelle will be popping up throughout the High Street to keep the festive spirit going through song!

You may or may not want to keep this a secret from your kids, but this year we literally have a snow cannon that will be blasting pure white Christmas onto the street. You read that right: a snow cannon, not a snow machine.

Of course, make sure you come hungry! We’ve got some amazing food options provided by our local bars and restaurants. We’re particularly excited by the Yorkshire Pudding Wraps, but whether it’s pulled pork burgers, vegetarian chilli, hot dogs, pizza, roast chestnuts, hot chocolate, candyfloss or mince pies, we’ll have something for everyone!

The support of your local High Street is extremely important, and we are all very thankful for your business!

In addition to Christmas stalls, the traders will be open and ready to help you with all of your Christmas shopping needs, so please come along and say hi.

There are several other surprises planned throughout the night, which you won’t want to miss. If you love Christmas, music, food, shopping and Santa, then make sure you come to the High Street on 7th December between 4pm and 7pm! See you there!

Visit www.hurstchristmas.org for more info.

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The annual village Christmas Fair will take place on 7th December between 4pm-7pm, with this year’s theme being ‘It’s a Wonderful Hurst’. It is a vital and much anticipated day for all the local traders on the High Street. Traditionally it has been the most successful day of the year in terms of sales, with many villagers doing their last minute Christmas shopping (usually with a mulled wine in hand!) while kids can have fun safely due to the road being closed.

After the success of last year, a new organising committee was put in place to build upon the event, and continue to grow it into something Hurst can be proud of. We’re a vibrant village full of amazing people, and we want the Christmas Fair to be something we look forward to all year. The committee’s vision revolves around three main questions: how do we make the Christmas Fair a great event for the people of Hurst, how do we make it a great event for the local traders and how do we ensure it is produced by the local community, for the local community, with a focus on supporting the existing local High Street traders?

To that end, the committee has been hard at work on planning and we’re excited to release more news to you over the coming months!

You can expect brilliant food on the street provided by local pubs and restaurants (including kid friendly bites), musical entertainment, Santa (of course!), and several special, secret things that we can’t talk about just yet! We promise it will be an evening you won’t want to miss. Of course, we’re always looking to find new sponsors!

If you’d like support this community event and gain exposure at the same time, please don’t hesitate to contact us hello@hurstchristmas.org - we have packages available for as low as £250 and every sponsorship or donation is hugely beneficial and very welcome.

We’d also LOVE to hear from you if you’re interested in volunteering in any way. Without people like you getting involved, village events like these don’t happen. If you’re a local charity benefiting the local community and would like to have a stall on the day, please get in touch.

We can’t wait to see you on 7th December between 4pm and 7pm! Please don’t hesitate to email us with any questions or thoughts at the address above, or through the website: www.hurstchristmas.org