Set in the beautiful grounds of Pylewell Park, close to the harbour town of Lymington on the Hampshire coast, Curious Arts Festival is fast gathering a reputation as one of the most intriguing and refined dates in the British cultural calendar.
Selected last year by the BBC as one of ‘eight extraordinary festivals’, the line-up includes a formidable cast of literary talent ranging from the Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy to Booker prize-winner DBC Pierre and author of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel novels, Deborah Moggach.
Laughter abounds in the late afternoon as stand-up comedians take to the stage with their whimsical and intellectual observational musings. The bill this year includes, Chris Martin, Zoe Lyons, Lloyd Griffiths, Simon Evans and improv troupe, the Noise Next Door.
If that wasn’t enough, the evenings come alive with an array of musical acts from the up and coming to the downright established with this year’s line-up has the likes of Billy Bragg, Lucy Rose, Skinny Lister, Jake Isaac and Matt Maltese as well as some world-beating boogie woogie piano from Ben Waters, regarded by Jools Holland as one of his top ten favourite pianists of all time.
As you might expect from a festival called ‘Curious’, there are oodles of other occurrences taking place, including: a sonnet-athon led by celebrated playwright Polly Stenham, life drawing, snail racing, poetry workshops, insect walks, jabberwocky hunts, garden tours, an authors’ XI cricket match, a wellbeing centre, yoga, bedtime stories and a film tent.
The whole festival kicks-off with an operatic performance on the Thursday evening, supported by a 30 strong choir. The list goes on…
Head to www.curiousartsfestival.com for full information on the line-up, oddities, camping, glamping and, of course, to buy tickets. The organisers have given Boisdale customers a special 15% discount on weekend tickets (full price £120. Day tickets also available). Simply use the code ‘curiousfriend2016’ when booking.