FH STORIES | TURN THE TIDE FESTIVAL – FUN AND FROLICS FOR FREE
October 22 and 23 2022, Dymchurch
Flashmob choirs, magicians, clowns, comedy, poets and much much more are about to hit Dymchurch – the Turn The Tide Festival is back with a bang!
Run by Tim Shephard and Coz Crawford, the free Festival aims to bring the people of the Marsh together in a feast of multi-cultural events. After a two year gap (for obvious reasons), the 2022 event is going to be bigger and better than ever!
Coz says “We wanted to do something that was fun for all ages and which everybody could take part in, and previous years have really proved that people love having the opportunity to do, see and try so many things right on their doorstep. As with so many things over the last couple of years it’s absolutely brilliant to think we’ll be back with a bang this weekend!”
WHAT’S ON WHERE
Turn the Tide takes place in multiple locations across the village – from the car parks to the funfair, the streets to the Village Hall, in the pubs, the Methodist Church on Chapel Road, and St. Peter & Paul’s Church on the main road. Tim says “It’s a great way to showcase the amount of spaces we have in the village which can be used like this, and bringing people into them helps strengthen community feeling. This is especially so in the autumn months, when people are starting thinking about the winter ahead and the village becomes much quieter.”
SOME HIGHLIGHTS
There really are too many to do them all justice, but here’s a few! For more information, exact details and performance times and locations, visit www.turnthetidefestival.org, or for quick updates follow Turn The Tide Festival on Facebook.
OLD TIME SAILORS – a 17 strong flashmob musical extravaganza, over 30 songs, fully unplugged, and audience participation is a must, with lyric sheets provided. Food will be provided by Dymchurch’s very own Day of Syn – bring yer own Grog!
RICHARD HANDLEY – a leading clown, comic actor and puppeteer featuring hilarious, interactive and visual comedy with street theatre and walkabout characters. After performing in 21 countries, Richard comes to the fifth continent!
FENCING WITH TENTERDEN SWORDS – Lunging and parrying like swashbucklers, come and have go if you think you’re hard enough!
JACK DAY – a regular opera performer at London’s Covent Garden Jack combines a little clowning and a touch of magic with his vocal skills.
CAPTAIN BARNACLE is your man if panto with a twist is your thing – get ready for magic, slapstick and laughs ahoy!
MEGHAN SWAN – is the first woman, and the youngest ever president of the world’s most prestigious magic society, The Magic Circle. She’s won more awards than you can pull out of a hat (sorry!) and her appearance at Turn the Tide is guaranteed to be, well … magic!
MICHAEL JAMES – the Big Performance Poet inspires, engages, thrills and enthuses his audience with words, passion and endless energy.
THE MARSH CHOIR – otherwise known as “the Flock that Rocks”, the local and massive community choir will lift the roof at St Peter & St Paul’s Church.
WORKSHOPS – try your hand at everything from playing the didgeridoo, sowing wildflowers, mosaic making, pottery, face painting, circus skills, archery, hula hooping, the list is endless.
A FINAL WORD
“For years, Dymchurch and the Romney Marsh have embraced Romans, smugglers and holidaymakers – we take pride in being a little bit different, and this is a chance for us all to come together and celebrate – for free!” says Coz.
Tim says “We have some fabulous sponsors, from the National Lottery Community Fund, Magnox, the Roger de Haan Charitable Trust, Kent Community Foundation, Dymchurch Parish Council, our local sponsors, and many local individuals. A HUGE thank you to them all – we couldn’t do it without their support.”
www.turnthetidefestival.org