Rye Arts Festival
Our Festival is Rye’s principal annual arts event, taking place over the weekends and last two weeks in September. It has developed over the past 54 years into one of the most successful and respected small festivals of its kind, dedicated to high quality performances in music, literature, theatre and other art forms coupled with a range of activities in heritage and the environment.
As part of our policy to support local educational activities and encourage involvement in the Festival by younger generations, we provide specialist workshops, drama and literary events for school-age children and free tickets to local students. In the past we have also offered the chance to attend Committee Meetings and discover how our charity operates. Other students have helped us keep photographic records of previous Festivals. This builds on a long standing tradition to include events for young people in the programme.
The Festival is a registered charity organised by a team of trustees and volunteers. Its purpose is to foster and promote knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the arts and sciences of music, opera, dance and drama, film, literature and drama / visual arts. It aims to do this for as wide an audience as possible and to attract them by, among other things, keeping the cost to the public of high quality performances as low as possible.
Many of our venues have disabled access. However, we stage events in a number of historic buildings across Rye where full access is not always available. In order to ensure you have the best possible experience, please telephone or e-mail the Box Office to check accessibility, reserve wheelchair spaces where available and discuss anything we can do to meet your specific needs. Please also let us know if you will be accompanied by a carer and/or guide dog.
Tickets for ticketed events can be purchased online, by phone, by post or in person at The Kino, Rye on Wednesdays and Saturdays
