If you’re a fan of visual artworks, or a fan of the Beatles, don’t miss the chance to catch the last week of our ‘Twist and Shout’ exhibition! And if the art of music is more to your taste – you can pair this with a fabulous performance from Lee-Ann Hawkes in a Candie Garden Concert.
Live performances, visual arts, creative markets and literature – there’s something for everyone. Read all about it below!
The Vale Earth Fair
A local festival with a global conscience The Channel Islands’ longest running music festival is back on the 27th of August 2023! Come along from noon until midnight and enjoy the sounds of local and overseas acts for a day of glorious music with the perfect views to match – a mini Glastonbury by the sea!
Over the years we have grown both in size and stature, always trying to bring music acts over to treat festival goers while raising money for humanitarian organisations.
The event is run solely by passionate volunteers who collectively bring together 6 stages and over 50 diverse acts covering multiple tastes over the course of 12 hours on the Sunday of the August Bank Holiday weekend.
Having brought over such acts as Asian Dub Foundation, Jungle Brothers, Buzzcocks, Roots Manuva and Skindred, we aim to make each year better than the last. Guaranteed to have special treats in store, we also bring together some of the tastiest vegetarian food in the island from our local chefs.
We aim to please the whole family, setting the festival in and around the historic Vale Castle (dating back to late 13th century), while providing not just an eclectic mix of music but also live arts and entertainers, and a children’s corner for the kids. Having been part of the community for over 40 years we pride ourselves on allowing opportunities to anyone who would like to get involved.
For those of you who can’t get enough of the Vale Earth Fair excitement, the collective will also be holding ‘warm up’ and ‘wind down’ gigs at the Thomas De La Rue! You can catch the warm up on the 26th, and the wind down on the 28th. 8pm til late.
Creative Sark – Craft and Produce Market
Happen to be in Sark this weekend? Or feel like an impromptu trip? Creative Sark’s Craft and Produce market is certainly not one to miss!
Featuring the best of locally made gifts, wollens, jams, art, pottery, jewellery, confectionery, and lots more – this market has so much to offer. If you’re feeling lucky, why not buy a couple of tickets to their raffle while you’re there!
Location: In the park between Hatters and Avenue Cycles – look out for the Creative Sark Banners.
Candie Concerts
Local theatre regular Lee Ann Hawkes joins the Candie lineup! Lee-Ann is a staple performer in the classical music scene. She is well known for her repertoire including hits from musicals and opera alike.
Candie Gardens Concerts are presented to you by the Guernsey Street Festival, with live music running from May‐September. These are free events, but you can support the organising charity with donations via the PayPal QR code on the poster.
‘Earthsongs’ featuring David Le Page and the Town Church Strings
If you missed ‘Pilgrimage to Bach’ last week, ‘Earthsongs’ is another chance to hear violinist David Le Page’s classical artistry, along with the fabulous Town Church Strings. This performance will take place in the stunning Town Church; a venue to compliment and reverberate the intense and atmospheric sound. With a focus on the importance of appreciating the world around us, this concert seamlessly pairs a vital environmental message, with a mesmerising musical journey. From tranquille birdsong and immersive Tibetan singing bowls, to the ambient soundscapes of Harold Budd and Brain Eno – this is certainly not a concert you should miss.
Taking place at 7:30pm on the 28th of August, Earthsongs is a brilliant way to see out your bank holiday Monday.
Free admission – Donations welcome.
Lit with Liberate: Paper Bullets by Jeffrey H. Jackson
Lit with Liberate will meet at 7pm on the 31st of August to chat about Paper Bullets: Two Women Who Risked Their Lives to Defy the Nazis (discussed at the 2022 Guernsey Literary Festival). The book club takes place in the Dorey Room of the Guille-Alles library, second floor. Multiple copies are available to borrow, please email Beth at bbrown@library.gg to reserve yours. We’ll have an optional drinks social at the Cock & Bull afterwards.
Paper Bullets is the first book to tell the history of an audacious anti-Nazi campaign undertaken by an unlikely pair: two French women, Lucy Schwob and Suzanne Malherbe, who drew on their skills as Parisian avant-garde artists to write and distribute “paper bullets”—wicked insults against Hitler, calls to rebel, and subversive fictional dialogues designed to demoralize Nazi troops occupying their adopted home on the British Channel Island of Jersey. Devising their own PSYOPS campaign, they slipped their notes into soldier’s pockets or tucked them inside newsstand magazines.
Hunted by the secret field police, Lucy and Suzanne were finally betrayed in 1944, when the Germans imprisoned them, and tried them in a court martial, sentencing them to death for their actions. Ultimately they survived, but even in jail, they continued to fight the Nazis by reaching out to other prisoners and spreading a message of hope. Better remembered today by their artist names, Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore, the couple’s actions were even more courageous because of who they were: lesbian partners known for cross-dressing and creating the kind of gender-bending work that the Nazis would come to call “degenerate art.” In addition, Lucy was half Jewish, and they had communist affiliations in Paris, where they attended political rallies with Surrealists and socialised with artists like Gertrude Stein.
Paper Bullets is a compelling World War II story that has not been told before, about the galvanising power of art, and of resistance. No booking required. If you haven’t read the book but want to come along for a taster of the book group, please do! **Zoom attendance possible, please let us know if you want to take part this way and we’ll send you the details**
Guernsey Arts presents: ‘Twist and Shout’ Exhibition
Bank holiday Monday marks the beginning of the final week of Twist and Shout! If you haven’t already popped down to Candie to join in on the 60th anniversary celebrations, this is your perfect opportunity.
Plus.. many of the artworks are up for sale, don’t miss your chance to take home your favourite piece!
