Isle of Arts 2014 – what a triumph!

This report was prepared for us by organiser Janneke Oxley – and we agree with every word!

From 2–5 May 2014, Ventnor was in the grip of Festival Fever! The 4th Isle of Arts Festival was the biggest ever, featuring 47 events across four days, in eight separate locations, plus an Arts Trail and Street entertainment. Ventnor had a festive air with colourful bunting around town, glorious sunshine, and lots of people out and about enjoying the shows, the food, the shops, the pubs and the beach. There was a real buzz around town and many of the artists remarked that they would have liked to have stayed longer!

There were several sell-out events in the Festival Marquee including Monty Don on Friday, and the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain and comedian Rich Hall, both on Sunday. Poet Roger McGough made his audience laugh and cry, Virginia Ironside showed us that there is life after 60, and the musical talents of the Kyle Eastwood band (see picture below) and Tenors UnLimited resulted in standing ovations from the crowds. Across town, the more serious and very moving Pity of War, with readings by actor Timothy West, received rave reviews from visitors and Festival volunteers.

There were good turnouts for the many and varied smaller shows, films, walks and talks, and a record attendance at the children’s events. Two new additions to the festival, the Street Arts and the Affordable Arts Fair, proved very popular and will be making a return in 2015. The always popular Arts Trail recorded more than 700 visitors in the Youth Centre (and four dogs!).

We would like to say a big thank you to all the local shops and businesses that opened extra hours or hosted artists for the Arts Trail, the eateries who provided samples for the Foodie walk and those who designed special ‘arty’ menus for the weekend, the hotels that kindly offered rooms for artists, those shops that displayed posters and leaflets, and everyone who sponsored an event or advertised in the Festival guide. Last, but not least, we would like to thank the wonderful team at Seasons newsagents who acted as our ‘box office’ in the run-up to the festival. In addition we were very grateful for the support of the Ventnor Business Association, and the Love Ventnor website, who did a great job promoting the event!

We hope to do it all again next year from 1–4 May 2015.

A spokesperson for LoveVentnor commented: “What a fabulous four days, thank you so much. Can’t wait for next May!”

All photos courtesy of Lucy Boynton (thank you!)