Winners of the Lewes List Reader Awards, Christmas events galore and New Year's Eve parties

The December 2024 edition of the Lewes List

Thank you to everyone who voted in the Lewes List Reader Awards, our most popular and closest run awards to date. So, without further ado, drum roll please, your winners are:

Best Pub: The Swan
Best Restaurant: Dill
Best Café: Taith
Best Takeaway: Erawan
Best Kids' Class: Tinklers
Best Brewery: Abyss
Best Spot for Lunch: Pestle & Mortar
Best Sunday Roast: The Swan
Best Shop: Wickle
Best New Business: Taith
Best Market Stall: Hall’s (Fruit & Veg Guys on the Precinct)
Best Fitness Studio: Soulfit

Huge congratulations to all the winners!

A special mention must go to the now-closed Little Lewes, which many of you voted for in the Best New Business category. Emily and the team have provided a welcoming space for parents with young children over the past year, and its closure draws into sharp focus how few places there are for babies and toddlers in town (and how difficult it is for businesses to survive here – even one this popular). Will anyone step up to provide kid-friendly spaces?

Just to add: we can’t include every event or news item in the newsletter – please don’t take it to heart if your listing isn’t here. We’re always happy to share on Instagram and Facebook – so please tag us there. Happy Christmas to you all.

All things Christmas
From Gremlins to the Grinch, the Depot has a full festive season, (see here), while there are a whole host of parties, markets and other events below. If you’re after a Christmas tree, try Wilderness Wood, Goddenwick, Spithandle Nursery and the Sussex Christmas Barn.

5 December: Late Night Shopping is back, with road closures from 6pm, Santa's Grotto at Lewes House, live music and food and drink stalls. More here.

8 December: Field Food are holding their last seasonal feast of the year, 11am-2pm at their barn near Southease. There will be warming food, mulled drinks and hot chocolate. Tickets and more info here.

8 December: The Paddock Singers Christmas Concert, directed by Ruth Kerr, promises beautiful and atmospheric choral arrangements, old and new, plus carol singing for all in candlelit St Michael's Church. Adults £12; under 12s £5, 3.30pm and 6.30pm. More here.

13 December: Expect Grieg, Strauss, music from The Snowman, Shostakovitch, plus a host of seasonal favourites at Lewes Concert Orchestra's Christmas Festival. 7.30pm, Lewes Town Hall. Adults £15, under 18s and students £5. More here.

14-15 December: Gun Brewery is hosting its popular Christmas Market, featuring more than 20 traders at its picturesque location on Gun Hill, Heathfield. It promises: mulled cider, Indian street food from Curry Squad and beer. More here.

14 December: Beak Brewery x Pharmacie Christmas Market is back, featuring a range of local artists and makers. Beaufort and Barley will be serving food with locally sourced ingredients from midday and Cackle Alley Cat Club will be DJing from 4pm. More here.

14 December: Abyss is hosting Create your own Bad Xmas Photo in collaboration with Intrepid Camera: “Grab your friends, put on your ugliest Christmas sweater, and get ready to strike a pose in our festive photo booth”. More here.

14 December: Amaze Christmas Fair supports families with disabled children in Sussex. 11am to 4pm, All Saints Centre. Santa’s Grotto between 12-2.30pm (£5 per child), face painting (£3-5), food and drink, free craft activities for children and performances throughout the day. More here.

14 December: Night market Sokoni is back for 2024 following a brilliant launch event last year, with more local makers, designers, food producers, drinks and DJs. 4-10pm on 14 December at The Sheds, 14 Phoenix Place. This is a rescheduled date, now with added festive cheer. More here.

14 December: Carols by Candlelight, a concert of carols both familiar and new, including works by Benjamin Britten and James MacMillan, and arrangements of traditional carols by Vaughan Williams, Rutter and others. 6pm at St Anne’s Church. Free admission. More here.

22 December: The Lewes Big Band’s Fairytale of Lewes promises a family friendly afternoon or evening of best big band Christmas classics including White Christmas, All I Want for Christmas is You and O Holy Night! £13-18. Performances at 2.30pm and 7.30pm at Lewes Con Club. More here

15 December: The Baroque Collective promises a feast of Christmas choral music including Bach, Handel and Buxtehude, plus Christmas favourites, audience carols, mulled wine and mince pies. £15, St Michael's Church, 7-9pm. More here.

21 December: A Christmas Cracker is a Christmas concert with international soloists and a 100-strong choir, featuring Handel Messiah part 1 and seasonal songs and carols with audience participation. In aid of Dementia UK. Tombola, stalls, bar and Christmas treats. £20. 6-8pm at Lewes Town Hall. More here.

New Year’s Eve
In brief: Lazy Susan is back at Beak this NYE “blending the deep sounds of the Paradise Garage, the opulence of Studio 54 and the harmony of Mancuso's Loft parties”; Zuniversal is Zu’s NYE hat party, which takes place down on the Phoenix; The Swan has the marauding troupe the Magnificent Kevens then DJs until 2am; and no doubt there are plenty of others who haven’t announced their plans yet!

Culture
News: Beak Brewery’s beer festival These Hills is back in 2025 on 9-10 August 2025 at the new venue of Glynde Place. Early bird tickets are now on sale with up to 20% off for the whole of December. More here.

News: Over at Charleston in Firle, two new exhibitions are open: Cedric Morris and Arthur Lett-Haines (here) and Vanessa Bell: Portraits by Duncan Grant (here) – both run until 23 February 2025. On 7 December, Rupert Everett will discuss his debut collection of short stories, The American No, with actor, author and director Simon Callow.  More here.

7 December: The Southover Gallery is exhibiting the works of three artists, Denver Sorrell, Pippa Burley and Amata Benedict. 10am-6pm, 7 Southover High Street, BN7 1HS. RSVP is essential here, with more information here.

7 December: Flaming Katy will be performing at the John Harvey Tavern, 5-7pm, Saturday 7 December. Expect a sophisticated mix of rock, ballads, blues and jazz.

19 December: Brighton-based Ben Ottewell is back for Hilltop Sessions at the Con Club. Ben is a founding member of Gomez, the British rock act whose debut album, Bring It On, won the Mercury Music Prize in 1998. More here.

17-18 January: With visuals and music for the senses, Lewes Psychedelic Festival is back for 2025, organised by Melting Vinyl and Innerstrings who promise “hauntological fuzz-rock mesmerising harmonies and psych infused driving electronic rhythms.” And that’s just on Saturday. Get your tickets here.

Sport & community
News: Soulfit is moving from the top of the town to a larger space at Temple House on School Hill (formerly Lemongrass). Their last day in their current premises is New Year’s Eve and they open the doors to the new venue on 6 January. A new and extended class schedule will be available soon. More here.

7-8 December: Lewes Town Council turned 50 this year and to celebrate, there is an exhibition about the town’s evolution in the past half century, called Fifty Years Of Change, at the Town Hall. There will be an exhibition in the Corn Exchange, and a programme of talks and film screenings in the Lecture Room. Free. 11am- 4pm, More here.

News: Lewes Sing Space Musical Theatre Choir is under new leadership with vocal coach Kate Benson from 15 January. It’s billed as a “fun and friendly group, where we enjoy singing arrangements from musicals both old and new with some fun performance opportunities thrown in. Our choir has recently supported Gareth Malone on tour and performed at Cadogan Hall as well as local performances.” No experience required. 7.30-9pm on Wednesdays at Wallands Primary School. More here.

News: Grown in Lewes, a new book about cultivation in and around Lewes is available to buy at a number of events in December. These include the town council’s exhibition, Fifty Years of Change, at the Town Hall on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 December, the Friday Market on 13 December and the Tuesday market on 10 and 17 December. See their Instagram here or email here for more info.

1 February: A date for your diary, Patina’s first fundraiser for Moving On 2025, Ditch the Detox, will be 8pm-1am at 14 Phoenix Place. DJs, cocktails, beers, soft drinks etc plus a photo booth. Tickets £10 in advance here, £12 on the door.

Family
7 December: The Clothes & Toy Swap is back at Depot; free entry with donations on the door. Organisers say: “please ensure your toy/clothing donations are clean, of good quality, non-electrical and suitable for children 0-5 years. We are especially keen for donations of clothing for older babies/children of 18 months.” More on Facebook here.

14 December: The Dot Collective is performing a A Christmas Carol this festive season. The show is an hour-long, recommended for ages four and above, dementia friendly, accessible and with carers tickets available. Cliffe Hall, Lewes. 11am (the 2pm show is now sold out). More here.

22 December: The excellently-named Feliz Navidads are bringing Christmas music fun for 0-5s, 3:45pm at Malling Community Centre. Entry by donation.