Chasing away the winter blues!

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We are Brightlingsea Winterfest

Banishing the winter blues in Brightlingsea, Essex with events to boost your mental and physical wellbeing.

WinterFest helps to fight depression by raising spirits and developing a sense of community during the darkest time of the year.
It’s a serious subject, but we have a lot of fun with a host of music, arts and other events.
We support Mid and North East Essex Mind and our own Wellbeing Fund.
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Check out our 2024 events

Concerts, comedy, arts and crafts, wellbeing, spoken word, health, walks and more – there's something for everyone at Brightlingsea WinterFest. 
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If you'd like to save WinterFest events to your Google or Mac calendar, click the button to download an iCal file. When opened, the file should fill your calendar with our events.
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Our aims are simple..

To bring people of all ages and cultures together to build community cohesion and resilience...
To promote the arts as a pathway to better mental wellbeing and raise awareness of mental health issues
To showcase local talent, encourage more people to take up a new hobby and join the local clubs and music groups
To support local businesses, especially in the tourism and hospitality industry, helping to boost income

This year we're all about inclusivity

As part of of that theme, we bring you a short film made by local teenager Robyn and film-maker Ray Hayden which we hope you'll love as much as we do! Featuring the ball skills of Bagheera the cat.

Helping the people of Brightlingsea

The WinterFest Wellbeing Fund provides grants of up to £100 to help Brightlingsea residents improve their mental, physical and social wellbeing. To apply or find out more about the Fund click the button below.

WELLBEING FUND
Here's just  some of the things we've funded for Brightlingsea folk of all ages, helping to make lives better.
  • £200 for Men's Shed
  • £100 for piano lessons
  • Family passes for Brightlingsea Lido
  • £200 for new toys at Toy Library
  • Family Lion King show tickets
  • £200 for Brightlingsea in Bloom
  • Funding for a Lourdes trip
  • Lifejackets for University Sailing Club
  • £200 for creative resources at Brightlingsea Lido
  • £90 for guitar lessons
  • Funds for Fresh Air Festival
  • Coding device for child with ADSD
  • Resources for Adult Literacy Group
  • Furniture for Dungeons and Dragons group
  • Funds for Roots Nature Play forest school
  • Child seat for a bicycle
  • Dining shelter for 3rd Brightlingsea Guides
  • Resources for Brightlingsea Regent under 7s
  • Day out at BeWILDerwood
  • Flooring for Pulse Performers

WinterFest News

About WinterFest

In 2014, following the suicide of a well-known local musician after a long battle with depression, a group of his friends decided to hold a small concert in his memory. The event was designed to raise spirits and boost the town’s sense of community.

The first WinterFest took place in 2015 – a four-day music and arts festival run by volunteers at at different venues around Brightlingsea. It raised over £2,000 for Mind UK and has since gone on to raise thousands more for Mid and North East Essex Mind, a self-funded subsidiary of Mind UK. Since 2019 the event puts most of the money it raises into the WinterFest Wellbeing Fund, which aims to boost the physical and mental wellbeing of Brightlingsea residents.

From those early beginnings, WinterFest has grown to become a major town event, featuring something for everyone to enjoy with lots of opportunities to get involved.

Come along and banish the winter blues with us!

It's a great initiative and it's important that we help each other as a community.

Thank you for the brilliant classes on Wellbeing Day.

What lovely ideas, my daughter will love the arts and wellbeing activities.

Keep going. I think music is a good medium because it talks the language of happiness, and perhaps more so, sadness and mixed feelings. KEEP GOING!

We really appreciate the support from WinterFest's Wellbeing Fund.

© Brightlingsea WinterFest
2024
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