Vintage weekend away from the kids!

Chichester's Dawn Gracie celebrates the decades closest to her heart with her Vintage Weekender, a weekend for grown-ups away from the children.
Dawn GracieDawn Gracie
Dawn Gracie

It runs from October 5-8 at Mill Rythe on Hayling Island – a chance to wallow in some of the simpler pleasures of the 50s and 60s plus a dash of the 20s. Attractions will include quizmania, best dressed competition, hair and beauty parlour, knobbly knees, DJs and chalet accommodation.

“The whole idea is a non-family weekend away. No children allowed, and it will be a weekend themed on my favourite era, the 50s and the 60, with a further era being the 20s with a Gatsby party,”

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There will be live bands each day, jive and Charleston classes, a Hotties Vintage Market day, pin-up perfection classes and a screening of Dirty Dancing: “It will be an immersive full weekend for people that are wanting something just a little bit different. And there will be bingo. I get very excited when I say that! We will have a big market so you can do some shopping, all related to the vintage era. There will be craft workshops and ukulele workshops. Some events like this are very much for the die-hard vintage life-stylers, but this isn’t. This is for the people that maybe like to dress up once a year, not just for the people that live and sleep and drink vintage.

“It is very much for joiners-in but there will also be lots of people-watching opportunities. And if you don’t want to dance, there are lots of other things you can do. You can chill out in the ball room. You can just have fun. It is very much for groups of friends and couples, but I have also come up with what I call my Buddy scheme – named after Buddy Holly, of course! – where if you want to come along and don’t have anyone who wants to come with you, you can come along as a solo guest and there will be an area on the Friday for people to buddy up.”

As for Dawn, as she says, she just adores the 50s and 60s for the styles and the fashions and the music, for the hairdos right the way from rockabilly through to beehive: “I am celebrating the music and all the fun aspects. I love the nostalgia, the cheekiness and all the silly aspects… just all the fun of it all!” Book on 01442 508850 or www.awayresorts.co.uk (fill in the selection bar ‘Mill Rythe’ ‘Adult Exclusive’ ‘5/10/2018’)

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