insideSUSSEX Magazine Issue 18 - August 2016 | Page 111

CHARITY

Dazzling festival marks
charity’s 21st anniversary
Friends of Sussex Hospices comes of
age on Saturday, September 3rd with
Festival 21, a dazzling day and evening of
thrilling family entertainment in the lovely
grounds of Danny House, a splendid
Tudor mansion near Hurstpierpoint,
Mid Sussex, on the edge of the
South Downs National Park.

Festival 21 celebrates the 21st anniversary of the Friends of Sussex
Hospices (FSH) charity and includes a spectacular son et lumière and
laser and light show; an air display with replica First World War fighter
planes; a vintage fun fair; and a huge array of classic cars. Adding to the
eclectic mix of entertainment are reenactments from days long gone; a
big top circus; strolling jesters; medieval musicians; and lots of fun for the
children.

Friends of Sussex Hospices chair, Kathy Gore, said: “This is the 21st
birthday year of FSH and we want to mark it with a brilliant event where
there will be a host of attractions for the whole family to enjoy. All 12
Sussex hospice care providers have been involved in planning Festival
21, which will celebrate the work they do and the care they give to young
and old across East and West Sussex. There cannot be many Sussex
people who have not had a family member at some time benefit from the
wonderful care our hospices provide. They are all heavily dependent on
financial and volunteer support from their local communities. We hope to
welcome lots of you to Danny House on September 3rd to share in this
celebration.”

Delicious food and a well-stocked bar will tempt the adults who can also
tuck into cake and tea served by Sussex hospice helper volunteers in a
giant ‘hospicetality’ marquee while enjoying live music from the Swingtime
Sweethearts and a variety of local bands. Festival 21 even welcomes
the 100-strong Pendyrus Male Choir coming all the way from Wales to
perform in concert a repertoire that includes ‘Sussex by the Sea’. Adding
an international flavour is a world-champion dance troupe featuring a
dozen amazingly talented girls and boys from Slovakia.

Tickets are £22 per adult if booked in advance, or £25 on the day (if
available due to limited audience capacity). Children under 16 go free if
accompanied by pre-booked adults, or pay £5 on the day.
Friends of Sussex Hospices is run entirely by volunteers and since 1995
has distributed £1.6 million to assist with hospice running costs. In June,
the charity was given ‘The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service’, the
highest honour a voluntary organisation can receive and the equivalent of
an MBE.

Danny House has stood through seven centuries of Sussex history. In
1918, it hosted British Premier, Lloyd George, together with Winston
Churchill and their American and French counterparts as they drew up
the terms of the Treaty of Versailles to end the First World War.
The invaluable work of the 12 Sussex hospice care providers will be
celebrated during the evening and a moment of reflection will see 3,000
lights twinkle in the night as friends and loved ones are remembered.
Festival 21’s finale is a spectacular laser and light show.

www.friendsofsussexhospices.org.uk

The fantastic sound and light show projects a kaleidoscope of colourful
ima