Crawley Festival
2010
How It All Began
by Roger Bastable
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The Crawley Festival is a well established and integral part of the local and regional scene. Unlike most of modern Crawley, the Festival was never actually planned. It came together almost of its own accord and from a concern as the New Town approached its fortieth birthday, that while Crawley certainly enjoyed fine resources and amenities it had perhaps mislaid its sense of community along the way.
While the events of 1986 and subsequent years were to show that a strong sense of community had been very much alive and kicking all the time, it tended to be fragmented and in need of something or someone to pull it together - which is where the 1986 Crawley Festival came in. Although no one single person was the linchpin, nonetheless a series of events rapidly unfolded in a matter of days thanks to a certain number of people who just happened to be around at the time - and who didn't duck quickly enough!
It all began when Roger Bastable met the Rector's wife late one afternoon in the autumn of 1985 over the cooked meats counter in one of the local supermarkets! An excited Jenny Goode told him that there was some cash available from the Crawley Arts Council to put on a community project in St. John's Church, and would he like to help? The Goodes had only been in Crawley a couple of years at that time, and Michael was fired with enthusiasm to develop a stronger sense of community focused around the town centre as part of the church's mission. As 'outsiders' from the Midlands, Michael and Jenny were probably better equipped to identify Crawley's many strengths and few weaknesses than those who had lived there all their lives.
It wasn't long before the original notion of a 'one-off' event in St. John's soon steamrollered into something far more ambitious. At almost breathtaking speed the blueprint for the first Crawley Festival was drawn up in the final weeks of 1985. Through the usual network of 'knowing someone who knew someone', a committee of writers, administrators, accountants, experienced organisers and technicians was soon formed. In the six or seven months of planning they met regularly at St. John's Rectory, and as time rolled by, tension tightened and blood pressure rose, as did the insomnia and alcohol consumption! While it is true that no individual was the inspiration, it would also be true to say that without such a talented team as its pioneers, the Crawley Festival would never have reached 1987, let alone be where it is today. Therefore, no history of the Crawley Festival can pass by without mention of Michael and Jenny Goode, Roddy Gye, Dave Hill, Paul Stillman, Byron Moon, Christine Marks, Jackie Bader, Roger Bastable and countless supporters and helpers.
The Crawley Festival's aim was to celebrate Crawley, past and present during the third week of June 1986. A very large and varied number of local groups were invited to get together and put on a programme of events and exhibitions, the like of which Crawley had never seen before! The Key Event was to be a 'Son et Lumiere' presentation of Crawley's thousand year history. It centred around St. John's Church and was written by Roger Bastable, adapted by Christine Barwell and shown each night with a cast including Elizabeth I on a magnificent horse, a 1930's Austin Seven and the Goode's dog, Runcie! Sweeping aside any worries about the weather, the committee successfully persuaded the Crawley New Towns Commission to let them use its car park behind the church for a 1,000 seater auditorium with giant screen fixed to the front of the church hall. They were also very fortunate in acquiring the services of actor Peter Vaughan who lived locally, to record the spoken soundtrack, which he generously did, free of charge. From the first performance on 15th June 1986 an anxious eye was kept on the weather. It was only minutes after the end of the last performance that the heavens finally opened - phew!
Another Crawley Festival breakthrough which seems quite the norm these days was the closing of the High Street to traffic for a Victorian-style fair planned for the last day - Saturday the 21st. It was Crawley's first High Street Fair for over sixty years and only became possible after some initial battling with the local authorities, who were soon to become very supportive. When it was all over, it was a large drink all round, a huge sigh of relief and a vow of "never again!". However, we now know it was to be the start of something which has since flourished and grown to be a vital part of Crawley's richly diverse community.