These Hills beer festival; late night shopping; Shakespeare at Lewes Castle; and much more

The June issue of The Lewes List

Food & Drink

News: This year’s These Hills takes place on 15-16 June over three different sessions (Saturday 11:30am-4:30pm; 6pm-11pm and Sunday 12pm-6pm). Organisers Beak Brewery (who have plenty on at their taproom here) says it “promises to be even bigger, better and more idiosyncratic than last year with a dreamy line-up of our favourite breweries from around the world, plus DJs, live music and low-intervention wine and cider.” More here. 

6-8 June: Kabak, which serves delicious Middle Eastern-inspired food, is at Abyss next weekend. More June events will be uploaded soon – keep an eye out here. 

16 June: Harvey’s is hosting four exclusive tours on Father's Day, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the historic brewery. These tours are to be hosted by two father and son duos from the Harvey's team: Chairman Hamish Elder and his son and trainee brewer Cameron, and Head Brewer Miles Jenner and his son and trade brewer, Edmund. More here. 

22 June: Head down to The Lewes Arms for more Dwyle Flunking – where two teams take a turn to dance while attempting to avoid a beer-soaked cloth – with the World Pea Throwing Championships coming up in August. More here. 

Reminder: That’s the Beer Talking runs beer tours in Lewes, one of which is (How to) Drink Like A Pro With An International Beer Judge at Beak, here. See more upcoming events here.

Culture

News: Newhaven will host a new month-long festival of events, workshops, walks and community gatherings to accompany 17 specially commissioned murals that have been installed across the town. Look Again Newhaven will see blank walls and neglected streets converted by some of the biggest names in graphic art, illustration and street art. There’s a pop up bar from Abyss and street food every Friday (3-8pm), Saturday (10am-11pm) and Sunday (10am-8pm) and events throughout the month including free printing workshop with Paris 68 Redux (1 June), free outdoor cinema screening of Vindication Swim (8 June), free crazy golf (15-16 June) and talks by the mural artists (21 June). For full information including a map of the murals, see the website here or Instagram here. 

News: There are two upcoming candlelit concerts in Hamsey Old Church from Musicians of All Saints: on 9 June at 6pm is Mistral Wind Quartet, a concert of Franco-British music in celebration of the 120th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale. On 16 June at 6pm is MAS String Quartet performing works by Haydn, Amoret Abis (new work) and Beethoven. More here. 

1-2 June: Lewes Music Festival and Lewes Rugby 7s tournament is back for 2024. This two-day festival begins with a rugby tournament in the morning, with the music festival at 12 noon. Eight-piece band Gentleman’s Dub Club are among the acts playing. More here.

12 June: There’s a bicycle-powered performance of The Comedy of Errors at Lewes Castle by HandleBards, a four-strong troupe of actors who are spending the summer bringing environmentally sustainable Shakespeare to venues across the UK. £21.50 a ticket, under fives go free. More here.

13-14 July: Another performance of Shakespeare at Lewes Castle: Moving Parts Theatre Company will perform Much Ado About Nothing, with original music inspired by Sicilian Tarantella and Italian 1960s pop. More here. 

22 June: Zu are hosting another party at The Sheds, 14-15 Phoenix Place, this one called Strawberry Moondance and celebrating the summer solstice. More here. 

29 June: The Paddock Singers present their Summer Celebration of Song on the theme of food and drink. 7pm at St John-sub-Castro. Tickets £15 including home-cooked snacks, available from here. 

Reminder: At Charleston in Lewes, there are two new shows: Duos: The Art of Collaboration, which runs until 8 September and features work from Rottingdean Bazaar, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell, Lee Miller and Roland Penrose. There’s also Dorothy Hepworth and Patricia Preece: An Untold Story, “uncovering the remarkable collaborative endeavours of these two artists.” More here. 

Reminder: Speakers at Charleston’s Festival of the Garden (18-21 July) have been announced: a wide-ranging line-up including Booker Prize-winning author Zadie Smith (more here). There are also two new art shows which have recently opened: Matthew Smith: Through the eyes of Patrick Heron (here) and Anne Rothenstein’s collages and paintings, in the first solo showcase of her work in a UK institution (here).

News: As part of Refugee Week 2024, The Launchpad Collective is collaborating with the Depot with an art exhibition of Iranian artist Ramin Imantalab (12-16 June) and Feature Kitchen, with an Ethiopian menu by Genet (22 June), as part of a Dalliance Refugee Week Special. More here.

Community

News: As reported last time, Pells Pool is getting a 10-person, wood-fired sauna. We’ve had an update from The Nomadic Sauna (who announced the collaboration here) who say the sauna should be open from mid-June.

6 June: Summer Late Night Shopping is back, meaning the High Street (from the bottom of School Hill up to Westgate Street) will be closed from 6pm-9pm, so the public can walk around safely. More here. 

8 June: There’s another Lewes Record Fair at the Con Club for all your crate-digging needs, 10am-3pm. There’s a bit more here.

8 June: PIGS (the Paranormal Intelligence Gathering Service) are hosting a ghost hunt at Anne of Cleves House. More here. 

9 June: Southover Open Gardens provides a unique opportunity to visit some of the town’s hidden gardens, from large traditional ones to small more modern interpretations. £6 entry. More here.

10 June: In the latest Lewes History Group Talk, John Lamb will explore the history of Lewes Rowing Club, 150 years after its formation. As the group points out, the club is still going strong with members taking to the river in canoes, wooden rowing boats, motor boats and sailing yachts. 7.30pm, Kings Church. Members free; non-members £4 from here.

28-29 June: Firle Fest is a two-day music event held in the beautiful setting of Firle Park with food, drink and local musicians. More here.

7 July: The Lewes to Newhaven Raft Race is back. This year's theme is Wacky Racers. As ever, it starts at Malling Recreational Ground in Lewes. It will be supporting two charities: RNLI Newhaven Lifeboat and Sussex Search and Rescue. More here. 

Family

8-9 June: Following last summer’s production of Alice’s Adventures in Aerialand, The Dot Collective return this summer with their brand new production, The Dream Sequence, inspired by A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It takes place in Grange Gardens. More here. 

18 August: There’s an outdoor performance of Peter Pan at Lewes Castle, inspired by the Isle of Portland off the Jurassic Coast. More here. 

Until 27 October: A new exhibition featuring never-seen-before items and artworks from the much-loved illustrator Raymond Briggs is now open at Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft, running until 27 October. It’s described as a highly personal show that brings together 30 items from the late author's estate, with over 100 original artworks from his 60-year career. More here.