Family Fun Month - Lost Brighton Tour

Fancy expanding your historical knowledge this summer? Or want to give the kids an educational day out? All Inclusive History's Lost Brighton Tour offers fascinating insights into Brighton's past, giving information on buildings, the coastline, and how it became the popular seaside resort we know today!

There's plenty of additional dates and times added during the summer holidays, and they can accommodate especially the younger history enthusiasts. The A-Z of Brighton tour is perfect for children to make learning fun, with an interactive challenge along the way!

See the Lost Brighton Tours page of the Visit Brighton website for more information and details to contact the tour manager to plan your tour!

www.ellieellie.co.uk

Brighton Festival: Ellie's Ellie's picks! Part 2

We're halfway through one of Brighton's biggest celebrations of the year, and we haven't been disappointed! There's been something for everyone, from fancy dress and book-reading for kids, to plays and live music performances in the city's best-loved venues.

So what's in store for the last few days of one of the biggest highlights in the UK's event calendar?

Nina Conti: This Tuesday, for comedic fun for all the family, don't miss the ventriloquism talents of Nina Conti (along with her puppet friends of course). See a screening of her 'docu-mockumentary" her Master's Voice, alongside a live performance guaranteed to leave both adult and kids wanting more.

Carousel: What goes on at fairground after closing time? You'll find out in this enchanting journey through dramatic movement with an equally enticing soundtrack - meeting all the weird and wonderful characters along with way. For a breathtaking performance of energetic choreography and music, visit the Southpaw Dance company on Friday 22 and Saturday 23 to experience at atmosphere you won't find anywhere else. 

How We Used To Live: This is definitely one for history enthusiasts and vintage lovers. Narrated by Ian McShane, it's a film of rare footage of London from the fifties through to the eighties. See the transformation of England's capital and an insight into its developing nightlife, vehicles and housing. The brains behind the idea and who made it a reality are nineties band Saint Etienne and filmmaker Paul Kelly, who will be on hand to give a special treat to their viewers with a live performance of the intriguing soundtrack too!

www.ellieellie.co.uk 

Brighton Festival: Ellie Ellie's picks! Part 1

This year, the early May Bank Holiday Weekend is kicking off with a bang - marking the start of Brighton Festival! The highly anticipated event is now in it's 49th year, and from tomorrow until the 24th of the month, has plenty of amazing acts, art, and exhibitions to keep its growing reputation as one of the most exciting festivals in the UK for all ages to enjoy. 

When there's so much to do and see, it can be hard to decide where to begin! So this week we've chosen our top recommendations of what you definitely shouldn't miss in the coming days:

- Children's Parade: What better way to open a festival than with thousands of local children stepping out in extravagant and obscure costumes that they have designed and made just for the special event! Several schools from around the area get involved in the parade every year, with kids from infant to secondly school taking to the streets along with their teachers and parents. Always based on different subject, "taking flight" has been announced as the theme for 2015. From Kensington Street to Madeira Drive, you can expect some spectacular sights!

Louder than words - it wouldn't be Brighton Festival without some showstopping dance acts. This Sunday 3rd, The Cathy Walker Company brings us some explosive choreography alongside live instruments being played, with two talented dancers caught up in a complex and competitive dance-off! Taking place in Woodingdean Central Park, this is definitely where to go for some mesmerizing excitement for all the family.

A Morning with Jacqueline Wilson: On Sunday 10th, head down to the Brighton Dome Concert Hall where the best-selling author will be chatting about her work and novels, including how she created much loved characters such as Tracy Beaker and Opal Plumstead. Tickets are £6 and there is also the opportunity to purchase pre-signed books, as well as hear all about her brand new creation The Butterfly Club (which is her 101st novel!) for younger readers.

www.ellieellie.co.uk

Crossing the teas project - Volunteer and visit!

It’s no secret that the British love a good cup of tea, but who ever though it was a fact worth exploring to the extent of an art project? From this month until June, ART;sync; a network of creative professionals, are building a collection of memories based purely on the concept of drinking tea.

Funded by The Heritage Lottery Fund, ART;sync have partnered up with several Brighton-based associations to bring us a fascinating study of the tradition that so many of us simply see as an every day part of life! From a cuppa and cake on an afternoon with friends to the celebrations during Iranian New Year, the project involves nine groups of people with varied cultures and backgrounds hosting their very own tea party. The stories captured will then be on display in Jubilee Library from 22nd June until 16th July 2015.  It's also a chance to see some beautiful and historical crockery from around the world, as well as the stories behind them!

Sound interesting? Good news! The organisation, whose vision is to "mainstream cultural diversity in the arts", is accepting volunteers to get involved right now!. They are on the lookout for Memory Collectors, Community Heritage Facilitators, and Photographic Assistants. So if you're handy with a camera, fancy gathering stories or just looking to find out more about the whole idea, head over to ART:sync to find out more!

Festive Ice Skating!

The festive season is upon us (our favourite time of year at Ellie Ellie), and a great way to get the kids and the whole family out and about is the Royal Pavilion Ice Rink in Brighton, which opens every November for ice skating!

Opening for the festive season, till January, the ice rink is a great excuse to try something different if you haven't tried it before, or get back on the ice for people who love skating. In one hour slots, you can book your tickets online and then all you have to do is turn up, get your boots on and get onto the ice.

For the kids, the pavilion have Mr Penguins, who help the little ones feel confident on the ice!

For more informaiton visit the Royal Pavilion Website and book your skating session!

Brighton Digital

Brighton is a thriving digital and creative community and this Month it is hosting the Brighton Digital Festival, a community driven grassroots festival celebrating digital arts and culture!

Brighton Digital Festival has a whole host of events for everybody who wants to get involved, showcasing the variety of activity that goes on across this marvelous city.

If you are after some inspiration, art, culture or workshops, Brighton is the place for you this month. With a whole host of seminars and workshops for free this month, there are endless possibilities.

Some of the great things going on include: geo-writing, the hidden web, mind of the city, comics and computers and career advice!

For more information on this jam packed digital festival visit the website now!

We complete our 71 mile walk!

Last Friday all the team at Ellie Ellie completed the Midnight Walk in Brighton to raise money for the Martlets Hospice! The Martlets Hospice is absolutely brilliant, helping people live life fully and taking care of people across the whole of the local community. We were absolutely thrilled to be taking part in such a great fundraising event, and reached our target well before the event! Thank you to every body who donated to this special cause!

The first six miles of the walk went by pretty easily, and although 13 miles doesn't seem that far when walking, the last few miles of the walk were more challenging. It started pouring with rain for the last few miles which left us soaked through! But we did it and it felt great at the end of the walk to know that we had all challenged ourselves.

Here are some snaps from the night:

A few snaps while we were out walking:

Finally, soaked through, here is the team once we had finished the walk (and it was 5am and we were ready for bed)

If you would still like to donate, find our just giving page here!

A week to go!

We've got a week to go until we take part in the Martlets Hospice Midnight Walk in Brighton! Our walk will start at midnight, and end when we have all finished our 13 miles! This is such a great cause and we are hoping to get lots more lovely donations in to help the Martlets Hospice who do such great work!

We've been training since February when we decided to take part, walking around the beautiful Sussex countryside and beaches in our spare time to prepare!

If you would like to donate to this great cause visit our Just Giving page and you can read more about our story!

Our Instagram page is full of our training photos too, and we will also be posting on the night next week if you want to keep up to date with our walk!

The Big Beach Clean!

This week marks the 30th anniversary of Volunteers' week, which is a week to celebrate the contribution of millions of volunteers across the UK. Many different volunteer projects are getting underway this week, with challenges and events taking place throughout the UK all week to celebrate. 

Hayley and I got involved with the big beach clean up on Brighton seafront last week, joining loads of helpful volunteers to clean the beach of litter and rubbish. Organised by The Argus, teams of volunteers and individuals to met on Brighton pier from across the city to begin cleaning up the beach. 

I was very surprised at how much litter there was on the beach, considering we had had a rainy bank holiday Monday the day before. What was also surprising was the type of litter we picked up, i was expecting crisp packets and drinks cans, however, the rubbish we were picking up was much smaller pieces such as bottle tops, string and small bits of plastic that could easily not be seen and therefore stay among the pebbles. Which would ultimately increase the amount of litter on the beach. We even found a pair of headphones buried in the pebbles! 

Thank you to The Argus for organising the beach clean up. We will definitely be taking part in the next one!

Read more about the Big Beach Clean up here!

Find out more about Volunteers' Week

Just under 4 weeks to go!

The Ellie Ellie Team are embarking on a 13 Mile Midnight Walk this June to raise money for the Martlets Hospice! 

Being established in Sussex we are passionate about supporting our local charities and events and would like to raise as much money as possible for this great charity! If you are able to donate thank you so much for supporting us! We will keep you updated with our training progress and how our legs feel after the walk!

We are really motivated this year to support great local charities and doing our bit to support others. We were even more motivated to participate when we discovered that the Midnight Walk raised enough money last year to care for 2 patients in their own home, every day for a whole year. This year, we would be so honored if we could say we were a part of making such a huge difference to other peoples lives. 

Head over to our sponsorship page to donate to this great cause now and we promise we will do our best on the walk! 

You can find out more about the Martlets Hospice Midnight Walk here and join in! 

For Fabulous Foodies Out There!

The Foodies Festival arrived in Sussex on the first May bank holiday last weekend at Brighton Hove Lawns and what a great event it was. Perfect for food and drink enthusiasts, budding cooks and bakers too.

On its fourth consecutive year, each year the event brings together some of the best food around for visitors to try and sample. With cookery classes and how to sessions as well, the event catered to everybody no matter how you wanted to spend the day. 

I arrived to the glorious smell of different types of food and drink and found it hard to decide what to eat first, a lovely choice of pad Thai and satay chicken, along with freshly cooked dim sum won the contest and i was not disappointed (even going back for seconds). This was not the only tasty food on offer, with Paella, duck wraps, noodles, bbq, hog roast, olives, cheeses and chutneys on offer! 

Here are some of the pictures i snapped throughout the day!

This event is not just limited to Sussex, and the Foodies Festival visits different places throughout the summer! Find out more about where you can find the next festival here and enjoy!

Brighton Arts Festival!

Brighton Festival is a celebration of theatre, music, circus, dance, literature, debate, film and family events. It's now in its 48th year and takes place in venues across Brighton and Hove for three weeks in May.

It's England's biggest curated mixed arts festival and attracts some of the innovative artists and companies from the UK and the world.

Starting on the 3rd of May, the Brighton Festival has a whole host of different shows, activities and arts to explore. A good way to start the festival is with an explosion of colour and activity with the Children's Parade! With 5,000 young people involved and 83 schools involved, the parade is sure to be a vision of activity and colour.

Different sections of the parade will focus on difference arts, including dance, film and books. With music and dance this parade is going to be a great activity to go and watch next weekend! The parade starts at 10.30am in Kensington Street!

For more about the Brighton Festival, visit the website now!

Brighton Marathon 2014

The Brighton Marathon is back this (hopefully sunny) April weekend for its forth year, the marathon started in 2010 and is now open to 12,00 entries for runners and athletes.

The women's marathon world record holder, Paula Radcliffe with start this years race, at 9.15 from Preston Park this Sunday the 6th of April. There are many places to sit and watch the marathon on Sunday and you can head down to the Beach Village to relax and unwind after the race and meet up with loved ones who have shown their support!

Brighton beach will be host to a mix of food and drink stalls, as well as music and benches to sit and relax, as well as the other spectator spots placed around the route!

If you are competing in the marathon, good luck! All supporters, have fun watching your family and friends compete!

Good Luck!

For more information visit the Brighton Marathon website!

Brighton Ice Rink!

Opening this weekend is a wonder of the South East, the Royal Pavilion Ice Rink in Brighton! Opening this Saturday, the 9^th of November, and running till the 19^th of January there is no excuse not to go and have a skate with family or friends! As well as the beautiful outdoor ice rink there is also a great restaurant next to the rink with a bar, perfect for a mulled wine!

Book your tickets now for what is sure to be a great evening or daytime activity! There are many time slots to choose from but hurry, they get booked up fast! And If you cant fit it in before Christmas, how about a fun new year activity with the family!

 

Visit the website for more information and tickets!

Brighton SD2 Festival! Join in the Fun!

This Sunday sees the SD2 Festival take place in Brighton, with performances from The Wanted, The Saturdays, Conor Maynard and The Vamps, as well as many more. This festival is a great occasion in the heart of Sussex that can be enjoyed with friends and family, and the chance to take in the great surroundings of Stanmer Park.

A first for Brighton, the SD2 Festival in Stanmer Park is in its first year and comes from the organisers of Shakedown festival, which is currently in its third year!

Visit the website for more information on the festival and a chance to get tickets for this Sunday! With what is sure to be a great day with entertainment and fun! The website is full of information on travel and parking, making the day as hassle free as you can.

SD2 Festival