Latest People: AOH awards, Hello Kitty, a flowery bike ride, Handbags For Hospices, Urban ArtFest & Best of British

Hello Kitty Secret Garden opens at Drusillas Park
Skating legend and Olympic Ice Dance Champion Jayne Torvill OBE officially opened the first permanent Hello Kitty attraction in Europe at Drusillas Park on Saturday 17 May.

The Hello Kitty Secret Garden is Drusillas’ biggest investment to date at £1million.

Set in an English country garden, the new attraction includes three children’s rides – a Hello Kitty car ride, a reach-for-the-sky hopper ride and a tea cup ride. There is also a Hello Kitty House and Parlour – where face-painting and other activities take place – and where visitors will get the chance to meet the star herself during holiday times.

Hundreds of revellers gathered to witness the spectacle at the award- winning zoo in East Sussex, including staff, visitors and invited guests. At the opening ceremony, Drusillas’ Managing Director, Laurence Smith, said a few words to mark the occasion followed by Salvatore Zingrillo, representing Hello Kitty owners, Sanrio. Jayne then declared the new attraction open by the cutting of a ribbon alongside Hello Kitty herself.

Bike ride signals a blooming brighter Tarner
A fun, flowery, family-friendly cycle procession made its way through central Brighton to deliver plants and trees in the Tarner area on Sunday 18th May. The procession was led by a cycling clown and Brighton mum Emma Berry, who came up with the idea.

Part of the 2014 Chelsea Flower Show Fringe, the convoy of bikes, all packed with plants, started at the Preston Park Velodrome, pedalling with musical accompaniment along London Road to The Level for a picnic, before delivering the plants to Kingswood and Milner flats. Cyclists were met by residents armed with trowels, ready to start the planting and brightening up of the area.

According to Tommy Tickle, Chair of the Kingswood & Milner Tenants and Residents Association: “This is just the start of a huge project to improve the outdoor areas around our buildings, which are very grim at the moment, and Local residents are enthusiastic about making positive changes.

“We’ve been working hard to bring together partners and funders to support a two-year programme of planting, cleaning, painting and installing of equipment, so that the outdoor areas here are a nice place for local residents to garden and sit out, and for children to play safely and enjoy.” Martyn Evans, Creative Director of Cathedral Group, said: “I want to congratulate Tommy Tickle and his co-residents for bringing together such a great partnership and we are pleased to be able to contribute to this project. This is a fantastic example of how new development can benefit existing communities and improve areas surrounding proposed development sites.”

Awarding the artists
Artists and nominees of the Artists Open House Awards gathered at MyHotel recently to collect the following four accolades:

The Latest’s Best Open House Award – won by Peanut Butter Tree Arts (West Hove Trail – Vicky House)

Visit Brighton’s Visitors’ Choice Award, won by Cristobal Ochoa (Encounters, West Hove)

AOH May 2015 Brochure Cover Artists Award – Bernard Lodge (Albert Mews Studios – Independent)

AOH Artist of the Year Award – £300 split between Tony Bown (Ravenswood – Beyond the Level) and Joachim Lambrecht – (Sylph Baier, Fiveways)

Festival organiser, Judy Stevens said: “The Artists Open Houses May 2014 festival has been a truly inspiring event, which included an amazing range of work from a wealth of local artists as well as artists from around the world, ranging in ages from 18-80.”

Handbags For Hospices
Sussex Downs College has joined celebrities including Paloma Faith in donating handbags to Handbags For Hospices, an event raising funds for hospices across the UK.

This year’s event sees handbags being sold in House Of Hoye, Brighton, to the public for the first time, including a limited-edition Japanese bag from star Paloma Faith. Pop along to House Of Hoye to donate handbags (from Primark to Prada) or browse and buy a celebrity or designer bag for yourself.

Best of British makes a difference in Brighton
The Best of British event was held at the Grand Hotel on Friday 30 May in support of Rockinghorse – the official fundraising arm of the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital (the Alex).

The annual sporting lunch welcomed some 500 guests from across Sussex and played host to two of Britain’s sporting stars; former England football international Paul Merson and former England rugby international Gareth Chilcott.

An auction helped to raise £35,100 for the charity’s Sabrina’s Wish campaign and will be donated towards the purchase of six critical-care ventilators for the high-dependency unit (HDU) at the Alex. The equipment will offer assistance to young patients with breathing difficulties.

Speaking at the event, Rockinghorse Chief Executive Ryan Heal, said:
“Earlier this year, we helped launch the Sabrina’s Wish campaign to raise as much money as we can to buy the best ventilators on the market to give doctors and nurses on the front line of paediatric care in Brighton, the best tools for the job. This is what Rockinghorse Children’s Charity is all about and we continue to work towards having the best children’s hospital in the country.”

For further information about the charity and the work they do to support sick children in Sussex, visit www.rockinghorse.org.uk.

artrepublic and Ink_d serve up Urban Artfest
Brighton’s two leading art galleries sponsored the city’s first live street art festival on May 31 as part of Brighton Fringe. artrepublic and ink_d presented the artrepublic Urban ArtFest – a gala of live street art and performances.

Famous urban artists involved included RYCA, Zeus, Pure Evil, David Walker, Copyright, Carne Griffiths, Hutch, Cassette Lord, Jimi Crayon, Gemma Compton and Dylan Floyd. The ground-breaking, free event took place in an industrial, vacant undercover market in the city’s Circus Street – the perfect, gritty venue for an urban art event. Artists and visitors alike had a great day.