From eiff at lists.phcomp.co.uk Thu Jan 31 13:39:14 2019 From: eiff at lists.phcomp.co.uk (Announcements for EIFF) Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2019 13:39:14 +0000 Subject: [EIFF] EIFF news Message-ID: Dear Supporter On behalf of the organising committee may I take a few moments of your time on pertinent matters? It is gratifying that so many of you have booked for this year already, so firstly, can I ensure you that the festival is definitely up and running, in what is likely to be the last time at Eastbourne and in its current form. Bands booked include English Contra Dance Band, Contrasaurus, Keeping Thyme, Millie & Ali and Orion’s Ring, plus, on the internationals side, Ta Palia Castana. Callers and leaders include Geoff Cubitt, Colin Hume, Robert Moir, Rosemary Hunt, Linda Moon, Karin Bellaart, and Bob Barrett, with Bollywood and Bhangra. Expect a full programme of daytime workshops and evening dances to suit all tastes, amongst friends many of you will no doubt have danced with before. If you have not committed, you can buy a weekend ticket for £111 per person: go to www.eiff.org.uk/tickets.html to book - • Via our agency online • Pay online and email a booking form • Or download a form and post it with a cheque to me at the address below Day tickets will be available soon for those who can’t make the full weekend. As the programme is developed you will be able to get more details at www.eiff.org.uk/programme.html The increases we have been faced with from our current venues’ lettings agency mean that to remain viable the festival will have to move sites for 2020, plus it is likely the “International” aspect of the festival may well will be lost in view of the large fall-off in those dancers choosing the genre. So, if you’d like one last “bash” at Eastbourne to help round off EIFF’s 40+ years there, now would be a good time to book! It would be of assistance in planning to take the event into subsequent years to know how many will continue to support a relocated festival, for example if it were at a single site with good motorway connections more centrally placed in the Midlands. Comments are welcomed. Regards Monty Crook EIFF Ticketing 14 Thread Mill Lane, Pymore, Bridport DT6 5QT From eiff at lists.phcomp.co.uk Fri Feb 1 09:43:44 2019 From: eiff at lists.phcomp.co.uk (Announcements for EIFF) Date: Fri, 01 Feb 2019 09:43:44 +0000 Subject: [EIFF] Meet the new EIFF director Message-ID: Meet the new director: EIFF is pleased to formally introduce our new director to you. Mechtild (“Mecki”) Testroet is of Dutch-German descent and hails from a small town in Germany just on the Dutch border. She studied theology at Paderborn University and came to England for a year as a teaching assistant after graduating in 1987 – and never went back! She now has two English daughters with German passports, and two granddaughters, one of them Norwegian! A single mother for many years, she developed a successful web-based translation service to work from home and later sold it to a colleague, for whom she then worked as a consultant until recently. Mecki is now involved in a very enterprising cancer self-help group in Bridport and initially took on the role of organising the International dance at EIFF 2019. A dancer since the age of 14, her first love is International, but she spent 10 years doing Morris in North Devon, before meeting her now husband at Sidmouth Folk Festival and moving to Bridport. She is now to be seen dancing at many festivals, including Lichfield, Chippenham, Sidmouth and, of course Eastbourne, as well as visiting Halsway Manor 4 times year for Contra/American. She dances at least two times a week at local clubs and has been known to break into a jive wherever there is a beat to hear and a square metre to dance on! In her spare time, she helps to keep Bridport Ceilidhs on the road as well as providing encouragement to the fledgling Bridport Folk Festival – when not stewarding at two Arts venues in town. Dragged screaming to the role of director she is committed to helping to keep what has been her long-term favourite festival going, albeit maybe in a different form and at a new venue. Do make the point of saying hello at Eastbourne this year and send any comments to her about your thoughts (to director at eiff.org.uk). Mecki apologises in advance that she will or will have already forgotten your name – but nobody’s perfect! Our thanks to those who have already extended their expressions of good will and support for Mecki’s future endeavours. The Committee. 1st February From eiff at lists.phcomp.co.uk Mon Feb 4 10:09:59 2019 From: eiff at lists.phcomp.co.uk (Announcements for EIFF) Date: Mon, 04 Feb 2019 10:09:59 +0000 Subject: [EIFF] EIFF stewarding Message-ID: Dear EIFF Supporters Stewards are the lifeblood of any festival and we can hardly ever have too many. So if you have already volunteered, thank you. If not, please do consider stepping forward now - the festival could not run without you! You will be asked to work 3 sessions (morning, afternoon or evening) and either Friday setting up or Monday clearing up. We want you to HOST your event, look after the artistes and dancers, and join in as much as possible, not “sit outside on the desk” as at other festivals! More info in the attached form with details of where to send it. Thank you in anticipation. -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 2019 Steward Form (1).docx Type: application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document Size: 23547 bytes Desc: not available URL: From eiff at lists.phcomp.co.uk Fri Feb 8 19:19:22 2019 From: eiff at lists.phcomp.co.uk (Announcements for EIFF) Date: Fri, 08 Feb 2019 19:19:22 +0000 Subject: [EIFF] EIFF 2019 and beyond Message-ID: Dear EIFF Supporter I am pleased to report that it has a very busy and productive two weeks for your committee, with real progress being made on finalising arrangements for this year’s festival: • All artistes have been confirmed together with supporting technical staff • Related contracts are in the process of being issued • The programme has been agreed with bands and callers • A caterer has been selected and details on menus will be available soon • Our webmaster has been kept busy putting information onto the website • Our communications/GDPR adviser has patiently advised us again (and again) of passwords, process and protocol • Sales to date have been reviewed and an encouraging financial forecast developed So, what do we need now? To be honest, we need one further push from you, our supporters. We'd really like 10-15 more stewards to come forward to ensure we have adequate coverage for the inevitable eventuality of illness, drop-outs, etc. The task is not onerous and you get a weekend season plus the option of indoor camping, for a suggested donation of £50. We do have a steward First Aider, but we may not have cover on the Friday night – and it would be better if we had 2 or 3 to call on over the weekend. You would not necessarily need to be a ‘full time steward’ for this, just to be there ‘in case’. Finally, at this stage we need another 5, or better 10, full weekend bookings, to ease us gently into ‘the black’. So, if you are mulling it over, can we nudge you to the finish line, get your application processed and the money into the bank? Remember it’s likely to be your last chance to enjoy EIFF as EIFF, at Eastbourne. Do it for old time’s sake! With the immediate rush of tasks over, we will now, maybe, have a quiet opportunity to look forward, get the new festival site confirmed and start reeling in our artistes to get you all dancing in May next year. Many thanks Mecki Director