A Taste of Upcoming Theatre and Music Concerts in Eastbourne!

Eastbourne always has a great line-up of theatre productions and live music concerts for people of all ages and varying tastes, so on the blog this week we thought we'd give you a heads-up of some great shows to book tickets for in the upcoming fortnight!

Flare Path sees a television-star studded cast of talented actors portray the epic wartime romance by play-write, Terence Rattigan, in celebration of the 70th anniversary of VE day, at the Devonshire Park Theatre from 18-29 August. This brand new production is directed by rising star Justin Audibert (RSC, Young Vic, West Yorkshire Playhouse) and stars Philip Franks (Heatbeat), Olivia Hallinan (Lark Rise to Candleford), Leon Ockenden (Mr Selfridge) and Alastair Whately, (Birdsong) and is based on Rattigan's experiences as a tail gunner during World War Two. Flare Path paints an evocative portrait of life in Wartime Britain for the RAF bomber crews and their wives and sweethearts who were left awaiting their return, set in 1942 against against a backdrop of heartache and quiet bravery.

The magical panto-style production of Treasure Island runs from 27–30 August at the Royal Hippodrome Theatre and sees CITV’s Chris Edgerley take to the stage as the hero of the hour along with CBBC 'Tracy Beaker' star, Danni Harmer. Be taken on a magical trip into the world of pirates and princesses, when one of the nation’s favourite children’s novels is given a new twist, in the stunning surroundings of Eastbourne’s most historic theatre. On top of this, Little Treasures Week takes place between 24-30 August and for the terrific price of £99, a family of four (two adults and two children) will have entrance to Treasure Island Adventure Park, the Redoubt Fortress Military Museum and the Redoubt's new summer Pirate School, as well as tickets to two great shows, Treasure Island and Hooray for Hollywood at the Royal Hippdrome Theatre. All of this is available for a massive saving of £60 per family!

The Bandstand has a fabulous selection of concerts coming up, which both children and adults will love! One Direction tribute act will be bringing the energy, charisma and numerous world-wide hits of all five original 'One Directioners' to the stage, including Zayn Malik who recently left the real-life 'One Direction' group. Expected to be very popular with a younger audience, catch this unmissable tribute concert at the Bandstand on Friday 21 August! One for the older generation to 'Come Together' for, an amazing tribute to the Beatles will brought to the Bandstand by the 'Fab4', one of the world's top Beatles tribute bands, on Saturday 22 August; no Beatles fan will want to miss this night of swingin' sixties nostalgia! Lastly, one for all ages, 'The Vogue' tribute show will showcase the voice, the image, the moves and all the best hits of Madonna, the 'Queen of Pop' on Friday 28 August!

For the full details and to book tickets for all these shows and many more great theatre and entertainment events in Eastbourne, visit www.visiteastbourne.com/events or www.eastbournetheatres.co.uk.

Top 10 Preparation Tips for Enjoying Airbourne in Comfort!

With Airbourne only 8 days away, now's the time to start thinking about the practicalities of ensuring a happy and comfortable Airbourne experience. We want you to enjoy every moment of the displays from the Vulcan, the Red Arrows, the Blades and more, in comfort, so we've put together a handy check list of all you need to prepare for a fun and safe experience! 

1. Don't forget your sun cream! We are hoping for a fabulous four days of sun, but even when the sun isn't shining in full beam, it can still be damaging, especially on the coast where the wind can cause skin to burn more easily. Make sure you apply your sun cream regularly and especially keep children topped up with sun cream!

2. ..Or your sunhut! When the sun has got his hat on, it's best to make sure that you've got your hat on too! Sitting on the beach and looking up at the sky can make you a little vulnerable to headaches, migraines and even sun stroke - so come prepared with a hat and have an enjoyable headache free Airbourne experience.

3. Essential Sunglasses! Equally important when you're looking up at the sky for a long period of time, are sunglasses. Prescription sunglasses are obviously the most ideal, but if you haven't got those then don't forget your best pair of sunnies - you don't want to be squinting whilst watching the last ever display of the Vulcan!

4. Know what's going on! Be sure to purchase your Official Souvenir Programme for Airbourne 2015 which includes the all important flying times, plus loads of interesting information on all the aircraft and display teams. Find out what there is to enjoy on the ground and also find a whole load of great discount vouchers inside too! Available from Official Programme sellers, from the Tourist Information Tent on the Wish Tower Slopes, the Seafront Office and the Eastbourne Tourist Information Centre - for just £4!

5. Protect your ears! The dazzling aircraft displays are amazing to watch, but they can be a little loud for some people - especially on little ears! If you're coming with children or you have sensitive ears, then be sure to bring some foam ear protectors to prevent any ear damage.

6. Drink plenty. It might sound obvious, but keep hydrated! Sitting in the sun for long periods of time can cause dehydration, which might lead to headaches or worse. Bring plenty to drink and enjoy Airbourne feeling hydrated, refreshed and headache free! 

7. Bring a portable Radio! There'll be some super commentary of all the displays across the four days of Airbourne, but if you aren't on a beach close to the Wish Tower Slopes you are unlikely to hear it. This is where Radio Airbourne 87.7FM comes in handy; the 5 day radio station will broadcast all the live commentary, plus exclusive pilot interviews, competitions and lots more. Bring a portable radio and tune into 87.7FM and you won't miss a thing when you're sat on a quieter beach.

8. Keep your children safe! Ensure the safety of your children at an event packed with tens of thousands of people and get them a colourful Kidzsafe wristband from the Seafront Office or the Lifeguard Station and First Aid Hut! Write down your contact details on the colour coded wristbands and in the instance a child is lost, the bands will help to reunite children and parents! 

9. Sit Comfortably! Sitting on the beach is a lot more comfortable with picnic blankets and deckchairs, so be sure to pack your blanket or hire a beach deckchair to enjoy Airbourne without getting a numb bum!

10. Be Road-Wise! Be aware that parking will be extremely difficult in Eastbourne during Airbourne, and traffic will be slow! If you live in Eastbourne, avoid driving altogether and if you are driving from further afield then make sure you leave in plenty of time to avoid missing the displays you want to see! 

That's it from us, we're totally buzzing for Airbourne now and we can't wait to welcome all our visitors to Eastbourne next week! One last thing, don't forget your camera! 

Summer Holiday Activities for the Rainy Day

It's a beautiful day in Eastbourne today and we hope to see the sun everyday. However, we do know that sometimes the sun can be a little shy and so he sends his friend, Rain Cloud out to greet people instead.

Rain Cloud isn't quite as friendly as Sun, so we've put together some great ways to escape him during his visits to Eastbourne this school holiday!

Summerdown Camp is a very fascinating exhibition currently on display at the Pavilion Tea Rooms on Royal Parade. Summerdown Camp was the largest WW1 convalescent camp of its kind, when it opened in Eastbourne one hundred years ago. The exhibition uncovers what life was like for the thousands of soldiers who recovered at the camp, and also for the women who took care of them and nursed them back to health. The exhibition is free, and children with a thirst for history will love it! Why not try a delicious cream tea whilst there?!

The Observatory Science Centre in Herstmonceux has some really fun and interesting workshops this Summer, to keep children's brains ticking whilst away from school. 'Colour Kaleidoscope' on 4 August, 'Captivating Chemistry' on 13 August and 'Be an Astronaut' on 18 August, are just a few of the many great workshops to chose from. Be quick though, they do book up fast!

The David Lloyd Leisure Centre in Eastbourne, is home to Lloyds Lanes; the prefect place for a game or two of tenpin bowling on a rainy day! It's very child friendly too, with bumpers to put up on the lanes for those that need a little help, as well as Laser Quest, pool tables and lots more entertainment and games!

Newly refurbished and re-opened Fort Fun on Eastbourne's seafront has a fabulous Indoor Soft Play, with ropes, swings, tunnels, slides, a designated toddler area and lots, lots more. So, when Rain Cloud comes to visit, head to Fort Fun for an afternoon of super fun soft play!

When it's not quite the weather to take a dip in the sea, one of Eastbourne's large leisure centres, the Sovereign Centre will help in keeping the children active and having a whale of a time for hours! With a fun pool complete with water flumes, a baby pool for the really little ones, a bubble pool and lots more, the Sovereign Centre makes for a great value family day out!

When Annie comes to the Congress Theatre from 10-15 August, it's the perfect time to introduce the kids to the most famous and lovable orphan from 1930's New York! With two matinee shows, on 13 and 15 August, the theatre is a great place to entertain children if Rain Cloud decides to come out to play. Children will love the classic songs from the show, 'It's a Hard-Knock Life', 'Tomorrow' and 'You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile', plus many more!

To find out lots more ways to keep your children occupied this Summer, whatever the weather, head to VisitEastbourne.com!

Eastbourne Extreme Speeds Into Town!

This weekend (18-19 July) Eastbourne Extreme, which is one of the biggest free extreme sporting events on the South Coast will return to Eastbourne's Eastern seafront. The two day event features many dazzling displays and demonstrations from some top land, sea and air extreme sports display teams!

The variety of extreme sports on offer at the event is incredibly diverse this year, with awsome displays from the World Slalom Series inline skating team, Zero Gravity freestyle mountain bike team and the MBE BMX team, along with a brand new bike tour of over 100 riders on retro 1980's BMX bikes!

The bike tour, which is run by Brighton Riders BMX, starts on Sunday morning (18 July) and ends at Eastbourne's Eastern seafront where the rest of the days action will begin. The festival is not only a site of amazing displays, but also a chance for visitors to safely try out some new sporting activities in safe hands and with tutored guidance!

A brand new feature of Eastbourne Extreme this year, sees amazing and inspiring athletes demonstrating human strength as part of the Calisthenics Federation World Cup. The incredible body-building athletes stop off in Eastbourne ahead of the World Cup final in Moscow at the end of the year!

There will be windsurfing and paddleboard action with tutored sessions and competitions run by Buzz Active RYA Centre (formerly Spray Watersports), taking place on Eastbourne beach.

Eastbourne's Bourne Bombshells will be challenging teams from all over the country in the only outdoor roller derby tournament in Europe, and the World Slalom Series will see freestyle skaters battle for the top spot in the hope of representing Great Britain in future championships.

Get your skates on and head to the extreme sport festival where they'll be a freestyle skate park takeover for practicing stunts and a packed-out programme of freestyle demos, roller hockey, street skating, roller disco and tuition for new skaters!

Visitors can expect all of this and more, plus live entertainment all weekend on the music stage at the beach! Find out the full details of Eastbourne Extreme, here! 

So Much to See and Do in Eastbourne this Summer Holidays!

Eastbourne is not only the UK's sunniest place, but it also has a whole host of activities to keep children entertained during the school summer holidays! With free activities like rock pooling or a picnic in one of Eastbourne's many parks, as well as Pirate School at the Redoubt Fortress and magic in the sky at Eastbourne's free air show, Airbourne, no child could possibly get bored in Eastbourne this summer!

Every Tuesday evening between 28 July and 1 September, Eastbourne's well-loved Bandstand is home to the rockin' Kids Party Nights, where children's entertainers such as 'AKA' and 'Frankie Says', blast out chart and musical favorites for children to sing and dance to. 

Whilst some of the popular tribute concerts this season are more familiar to older generations, there's one which will definitely have flocks of young girls (and boys too) heading in 'one direction' to Eastbourne Bandstand! One Direction tribute act will belt out 'What Makes You Beautiful', 'Live While We're Young' and other hit songs from the world-famous boy band, on Friday 21 August!

Regular school might be out, but Pirate School is in at the Redoubt Fortress! A drop-in style activity programme open every day from 23 July until 1 September, Pirate School allows your little scallywags to release their inner pirate! Dressing-up, dancing and singing the songs of the sea, walking the plank, digging for treasure and learning the lingo, are all ways in which children can 'graduate' from Pirate School this summer!

Little Treasures week from 24-30 August makes for unbeatable value for family fun at some of Eastbourne's best attractions! For just £99 for a family of four, a Little Treasures family pass includes two shows at the Royal Hippodrome Theatre, 'Treasure Island' and 'Hooray for Hollywood', entry to Pirate School at the Redoubt and entry to Treasure Island theme park!

For children wanting to learn many all-important life-saving skills, Tyro Lifeguard courses taught by Eastbourne's Lifeguards run throughout the school holidays! The courses for able-swimmers aged between 8 and 14 teach skills such as basic first aid, paddle board training and more!

'50 Things to Do Before You're 11 3/4 Explorer Week' from 25 July to 2 August provides adventurous children with the opportunity to try raft building, learn navigation skills and explore rock pools, in various courses run by the National Trust at Birling Gap!

Eastbourne's annual international air show, Airbourne is the perfect reason to make a flying visit to Eastbourne from 13-16 August, with a packed-out flying programme complete with a superb live music line-up that all the family can enjoy!

For more information on all the ways to keep children having fun on the Sunshine Coast this summer go to VisitEastbourne.com!

Tennis Tuesdays - Anne Keothavong Coaches Women Getting Back Into Tennis!

As the action on the courts at Devonshire Park heats up at Aegon International this week, retired tennis star and former British number 1, Anne Keothavong took part in Tennis Tuesdays on Tuesday 23 June;  bringing her skill and expert knowledge to help coach a group of women on a beautiful sunny evening in Eastbourne.

Tennis Tuesdays is an initiative set up by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), in association with Nike, to encourage more women to get back into or to begin playing tennis! Launched this summer, Tennis Tuesday sessions are taking place in towns and cities across the country including Eastbourne at Gildredge Park tennis courts and Fisherman's Green tennis courts.

On Tuesday 23 June, when Anne Keothavong coached 12 women, some who regularly play tennis and others who haven't played in years - but all wanting to improve their game and have fun - VisitEastbourne was invited along to watch!

Anne may have been retired from professional tennis for two years now, but she definitely hasn't lost her trophy-winning skill on the court. It was great to watch the women enjoying tennis, whilst practicing their backhands, deep shots and drop shots and being guided by Anne and the other tennis coaches on the courts.

The women taking part all had a lot of fun and it didn't take long for the competitive streak to come out in some of them. Anne Keothavong was extremely friendly and relaxed, apart from her tremendous skill on the court, no one would have know she was a tennis star, she just seemed like one of the other 12 women having fun and playing tennis on a sunny Tuesday evening. After the session was over, Anne happily answered a few questions for us.

VE: What are your top tennis training tips for women starting out or getting back into tennis?

AK: Just to be open-minded and enjoy the challenge of training, nothing is ever easy but you just have to keep going with it and it will get easier. Be patient when improving your skills, enjoy the training and the more you play the better you'll get. It's also a really nice way to meet and interact with new people.

VE: Have you been enjoying the Aegon International Eastbourne this year?

AK: Yeah it's great, as a retired player I now work for BT Sport as a pundit and commentator so obviously I'm here in a different capacity than I have been in the past. I got to see Johanna Konta win today which was great, and it's amazing to watch some of the junior girls playing excellent tennis; watching the stars of the future is great!

VE: What is your favourite thing about Eastbourne?

AK: As a player I always enjoyed coming here as it's a relaxed atmosphere with superb courts and excellent support.

VE: What is life like for you now that you've retired from tennis?

AK: Well it's been two years since I retired and life has changed quite a bit in those two years. I got married and we're expecting our first child, so very different from the years of professional tennis. Tennis is still very much a big part of my life in my current work, which is really nice. I don't have to spend so much time in airports now which is also great!

With Aegon International Eastbourne being a women's tournament, it's the perfect time to inspire women all over the country to take up tennis. Whether it's to have some fun with friends or to enjoy a bit of competition, Tennis Tuesdays offer an opportunity for women to show their tennis talent, in a sociable environment, helping to remove some of the barriers to sport that women often face.

Anne was lovely to talk to and it was extra special to see her sharing her tennis talent and skill with so many enthusiastic women on Eastbourne's gorgeous grass courts! It definitely inspired us to get the racket out and start hitting them balls on a Tuesday evening this summer!

Learn more about Tennis Tuesdays and Tennis in the Park with the LTA! 

Sussex Day Celebrations in Eastbourne

This 16 June (Tuesday) the whole county will mark Sussex Day to celebrate what a beautiful place Sussex is! With stunning landscapes, a wealth of fascinating history and culture in all corners of the town, Eastbourne offers so much to the county of Sussex, for visitors, international tourists and residents - we certainly have a lot to celebrate.

To mark the special day, Eastbourne’s cultural and heritage hubs, the Redoubt Fortressand the Pavilion, will welcome visitors for a day of free festivities and fun! 

The Napoleonic Redoubt Fortress has free entry all day on Sussex Day and you'll be able to handle objects from displays around the military museum, guided by the helpful museum volunteers. 

A fascinating Carry on Curator talk takes place at 2pm which is also free of charge for this special occasion. “Carry on Curator: Pour la canaille: Faut la mitraille” coincides with the run up to the 200 year anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo. Come along and meet with museum curator, Damian Etherington for a thrilling interactive discussion about museum artefacts from the Napoleonic era. You'll also have the chance to handle Napoleonic era items and get a new perspective on them. From a Napoleonic General’s jacket and original Times newspapers reporting the Battle of Trafalgar and Waterloo, to a collection of original weapons and more, this is fantastic event not to be missed.

What's more, there will also be two free guided tours (11am and 2.30pm), of the Fortress grounds and the museum. The Napoleonic Fortress was built in the early 1800’s, and it has 24 rooms known as Casemates, at one time it was used to house up to 200 men during times of battle. You can learn lots more interesting facts like this on the guided tours on Sussex Day.

Once you've worked up an appetite from wondering around the fortress grounds making lots of discoveries, then head to the Outpost Cafe where you'll find a special Sussex Day offer of buy one get one free on all hot drinks. You can also tuck into a Sergeants Scone, a Bombardier's Brownie or a Trench Toastie, whilst enjoying the wonderfully vintage themed decor of the Outpost.

For a double whammy of intriguing Eastbourne history and heritage, head to the Pavilion just minutes from the Redoubt and be taken on a guided tour of the extremely interesting Summerdown Camp exhibition. 

During both the tours (11am and 2pm), visitors will learn some of the stories that have been discovered since the exhibition opened in March, as well as hearing more of the personal stories of men and women who recovered and worked at Summerdown convalescent camp in Eastbourne during World War One. 

Sussex Day will be a fantastic day of celebrations for both Eastbourne and the entire county, so please do join us in marking the occasion!