insideKENT Magazine Issue 82 - January 2019 | Page 126

NEWS LEEDS CASTLE’S FESTIVAL OF FLOWERS STRIKES GOLD AT THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH AWARDS Leeds Castle celebrated a golden success at the Beautiful South Awards in December when the Festival of Flowers was named Tourism Event/Festival of the Year. Run by Tourism South East in partnership with Services for Tourism Ltd, the Beautiful South Awards recognise outstanding achievement in the tourism industry over the last 18 months. The Festival of Flowers, which attracts over 16,000 people in September time and sees the Castle decorated in lavish floral displays across six consecutive days, was up against Jazz on the Pantiles (Tunbridge Wells) and Airbourne (Eastbourne) for the award. Nigel Smith, Chief Executive of Tourism South East, said the award winners “are truly world class. I was blown away by the sheer quality of tourism businesses we have got in the South East and how their numbers are increasing every year.” Alysha Sargent, Head of Events at Leeds Castle said: “We’re so delighted to have been awarded Gold for Tourism Event/Festival of the Year. A year’s worth of planning goes into the Festival of Flowers, and each year it really does get bigger and better than ever; so it’s a real accolade to be recognised for such a prestigious award.” TALENTED ARTISTS EXHIBIT AT KINGS HILL Colourful paintings and glass sculptures by some of the South East’s most talented artists are on show in the latest exhibition in the Control Tower at Kings Hill. Among the exhibits is “The sky outside me”, an atmospheric, playful oil painting by Jemma Day, whose work has recently been featured in Tatler and House & Garden. Also on show are abstract landscapes of the rolling hills of the South Downs by Loraine Hays, Cornish land and seascapes by Andrew Palmer and paintings that explore how artificial intelligence can assist in the creative process by Gabriel di Mauro. THE SKY OUTSIDE ME BY JEMMA DAY 126 The exhibition is open Monday to Friday between 9am and 5.30pm. It closes at the end of January 2019 when a new exhibition will be installed.