Brightlingsea’s first Festival of Outdoor Arts launched with a huge success this Sunday, the 2nd of October.  The Fresh Air Festival (FAF) brought together a wide variety of free outdoor performances and seaside fun for everyone.

FAF is a street performance festival where community is at the heart of everything. Residents enjoyed a fun day outdoors with plenty of activities taking place for all the family.

The Brightlingsea Promenade was filled with acrobatics, a walkabout lobster and a 40ft inflatable whale with storytelling. Children and adults alike also enjoyed a short show of comedy theatre.

All of this was backed by a few community bands such as Drums Zkool who play West African percussion with drummers from Refugee Action Colchester and the magnificent local Sea Shanty singers, The Motley Crew.

Essex County Council was also present on the day. We talked to visitors about our new Climate Advice Packs and daily actions we can all take to lessen our impact on the planet and transition to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The festival was created by independent producer and Brightlingsea resident Cassie Catchpole, with production support by Manningtree’s famous Grand Theatre of Lemmings.

Director Cassie Catchpole said: “I’ve always wanted to run an outdoor arts festival and when I moved to Brightlingsea last year I thought now is the perfect moment and this is the perfect town. I’ve performed with Grand Theatre of Lemmings for nearly a decade, so I’m really pleased they’re on board helping make FAF a day to remember, and I look forward to seeing lots of people having silly fun on the prom!”