What Is Abbeyfest? Director's Notes

FESTIVAL DIRECTOR'S NOTES

Welcome to Abbeyfest 2012 and once again it’s with great pleasure and delight that I’m able to bring you a wonderful festival which is now in its 14th year!

Getting the festival on over the past few years has been a tremendous challenge, not only in the months of planning, programming and scheduling but in the raising of sufficient sponsorship to be able to programme the truly outstanding free Friday night jazz concerts that run throughout.

These concerts are the heart and soul of Abbeyfest but they are also its achilles heel due to them being free and the high costs of getting them on. When you add to this the struggling economy, where less and less companies are able to support us, we’ve had to look long and hard at how to keep these nights going for free. Without changing the whole philosophy of these nights by charging entrance fees our solution has been in the running of the licensed bars and food stall outlets that appear on the nights. The extra income they generate has been the difference needed to keep it going. But whilst this does work, it’s not quite working well enough as many of our visitors bring their own drink and food not realising how important the bar and food outlets are in keeping this event alive. Without harping on, if you are planning on coming to a free Friday night jazz concert or the Blues festival please try and support the Abbeyfest outlets as they are a major factor in keeping the event free for you!

Abbeyfest this year is a real return to our roots as we are "Keeping It Live" in a big way through our three performance genres of Music, Theatre and Comedy.

Once again site owners Office Estates have given Abbeyfest fantastic support and together with Shepherd Neame, Virgin Active, Tandem Centre, 606 Club, Coraider, Evonprint, Monkeyprint and new sponsors White Light, Katavento and Smooth C they have gone a long way to making the festival possible.

I’m delighted to welcome back many of our favourite Jazz artists. Last year saw a newcomer to Abbeyfest in Noel McKoy and it was a knockout gig, so if you missed him then don’t miss him again, he’s back on the 15th July. The musicians that play Abbeyfest can’t wait for it to come around, they have a wonderful time here and we are so lucky that this level of talent love playing here every year which is a true testament to the festival and the audiences it attracts!

Our Comedy shows (Slaughterville at the Watermill) will be running again with 4 outstanding nights of Edinburgh previews. We have an extremely strong line-up this year. All credit to Brett Vincent from “Get Comedy” for programming this amazing schedule as we bring you a top quality gathering of some of the best comedians on the circuit today, guaranteeing lots of laughter along the way!

An integral part of Abbeyfest is its Theatre shows and this year it’s once again as strong as ever. Our Artistic Director Mark Marlowe has pulled out all the stops to put together an exciting and vibrant line up consisting of 16 cracking shows. There are so many great choices not only for the grown-ups but also for the younger ones, so whatever your taste I’m sure we won’t disappoint!

Abbeyfest would not be complete without the Blues - "Blues at the Mills" that is! It’s been part of the festival from day one and as usual the August Bank Holiday weekend plays host to a four day event showcasing some of the best Blues around. The bandstand gets an extra night on the Saturday and B.B’s Blues Club in the Colour House Theatre will not only be running for the four nights of the Bank Holiday but will also be running on its normal Sunday nights in the build up to the main event!

To conclude Abbeyfest 2012 the outstanding Kidsfest is set for the Bank Holiday Monday 29th August and will be celebrating its 5th year. Once again Kidsfest promises to be a truly wonderful and memorable day for all the little ones, a day when children take centre stage and enjoy the many free events, lots of entertainment and real hands on workshops taking place throughout Merton Abbey Mills. One most definitely not to be missed!

As always Abbeyfest‘s continued success is down to more than just me. There are so many people who are integral in getting it on. I would like to thank my wife Helen who is always there for me and my son Thomas who has worked alongside me with Wallder Management. Thanks also to Mark Marlowe for scheduling the theatre this year. A very big thank you to Terry Buckland, Steph and Di from Office Estates. Thanks to Steve Ruby and his team at the 606 Club who have been putting together the fantastic jazz line-ups from day one! Thanks to Mick and all the staff at Merton Abbey Mills and to all the volunteers that are helping this year and the regular Abbeyfest crew -: Tim, Jackie, Marc, Jo, Ciara, Alissa, Alina, Joe, Olivia, Monica Becky and Ruby. Also a special big thank you to Bruno and his family from Katavento, the Brazilian Restaurant here at the Mills, for their generous sponsorship and their appreciation of how Abbeyfest benefits their business. Thanks to Andrew Wheeler at Crystal Summit to Peter at Parker Hodgkins and Matthew at Abplas and Finally thank you to Bill Smith for all his help and support with B.B’s and the Blues at the Mills and a big welcome into the fold to James.

Last but not least thank you, the public, for supporting Abbeyfest (and the bars!). Without you we would not be here! So tell a friend, bring the whole family and enjoy one of London’s best riverside festivals.

Peter Wallder (Keeping it Live) Founder and Festival Director