Fairtrade Festival offers evenings to treat your senses

“The first weekend of the Burgess Hill Fairtrade Festival kicks off at the Martlets Hall and promises to be a real treat,” says organiser Robert Eggleston.
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Friday, March 6, is a way of showing that local produce and Fairtrade work happily side by side as the beer, wine and food festival features some great Sussex ales and ciders, Sussex cheeses and sausages, speciality breads and locally made savoury muffins.

The Fairtrade part of the night has some great wines, Fairtrade vodka to be mixed with fresh juices and also features new superfood quinoa.

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Entertainment is provided by two live bands. Shady Grove from Brighton, have played to packed theatres, clubs and pubs across the south. The musicians perform original and traditional tunes with a twist, drawn from the genres of bluegrass, folk and swing. Great harmonies and expert musicianship combine, along with passion and energy, to give great entertainment from these modern troubadours.

Underhound is a Burgess Hill combo, a passionate two-piece playing original indie folk with hints of jazz and blues. Underhound provide original songs – highly rhythmic, sometimes strange, sometimes dark, occasionally beautiful.

A fun element to the evening is a Fairtrade photo booth with some really creative hats with mock ups of Fairtrade products on them. People are invited to come along and take a few selfies.

On Saturday, March 7, the festival plays host to Faustus, a truly dynamic and nationally established folk trio.

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Nominated in the 2009 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards, the Faustus triumvirate are three of the leading lights of the acoustic and folk generation: Saul Rose (Waterson Carthy and Whapeazel), Benji Kirkpatrick (Seth Lakeman Band and Bellowhead) and Paul Sartin (Bellowhead and Belshazzar’s Feast).

They have a plethora of experience between them, brought together in a virtuosic display of musicianship and testosterone. Rooted deeply in the English tradition, in 2007 they received a 75th Anniversary Award from the English Folk Dance and Song Society. What you get is a trio that blends energy and musicianship, raw power and beautiful playing.

Joining them are two local artists. Mike Reinstein is a purveyor of the witty, the sardonic and brutally socially frank song while Freya Morris is a rising young talent with all the potential to be another in the long line of great female acoustic artists.

Don’t miss these two fantastic nights at the Burgess Hill Fairtrade Festival – they will be sure to delight your senses.

Visit www.burgesshillfairtradefestival.com to find out more.