Get Into the spirit – Folkestone’s living Advent calendar

Folkestone’s Living Advent Calendar will be back for 2026 and this time it’s running for the full advent season.  There will be a wonderful line-up of surprises planned throughout the month. Behind every door, at 6pm, will be a performance that brings the community together.  To be involved in some of the events, there will be workshops running from the end of October and through November in preparation.  This is the brain-child of Sadie Hurley and Sue Blakesley who run Jim Jam Arts.  Folkelife, not one to hide behind the tinsel, wanted to get in on the acts.

Christmas starts in january

Sadie: “It takes a lot of time and some money to put on the Living Advent Calendar, and usually we start our fundraising efforts in the January for the December run.  Then, in 2022, we received 3 years of funding from the National Lottery which lasted until 2025, so now we are back to the annual cycle of finding funding.  For 2026, we are very happy and grateful to our funders: the National Lottery, Arts Council England, the Festivals Fund from the Roger De Haan Charitable Trust via Creative Folkestone, and some very kind local councillors.  Last year we had a pause, we put on a day at Folkestone Harbour, but it was good to have a break from the norm.  I had just had my second baby and Sue had a new knee, so fundraising and planning had been curtailed somewhat.  What’s hard, especially now we’ve done this for a few years, is we need to make sure that we’re not predictable.  If you have seen an act before, we need to make sure you’ll not be expecting them when you see them again.  So now we have had a break for a year, we can come back with new flare and see what happens!”

it’s all a big secret!

Sue: “Usually it’s all a big secret.  We don’t want you to know what’s behind the door.  This year, there are still elements of surprise, but I can tell you which groups are involved, which could give some things away.  Expect community groups, some old favourites, some new collaborations.  We have also branched out and are putting events on in some rather large venues across town, and beyond.  We have our first event in Hawkinge Community Centre, and another in Hythe, and our opening night is at the Leas Cliff Hall.  That’s a very big space to fill, so we are learning to be careful what we wish for!”

Sadie: “We try hard to think of new ideas to make each year different.  It’s built up from people not knowing what to expect, to now people being really disappointed if we don’t put it on! But, we always end up at St Mary and St Eanswythe’s church for Christmas Eve.”

Part of Folkestone’s Christmas

Sue: “The Folkestone Townscape Heritage Initiative group sponsored us the first year, in 2015, and we wouldn’t have been able to do it otherwise.  They liked the fact we used different places around the town.  So then they wrote a little history plaque on each door that we used.  This helped highlight Folkestone’s heritage to the audience.”

Sadie: “We’ve been going now for 11 years which is quite amazing to think about.  It’s been over 20 years since Sue and I met at Christ Church University, which is a very strange thought!  The beauty of the Living Advent Calendar is that people experience live performance that they would never have thought to buy a ticket to.  Incidentally, it’s free!”

once in a lifetime experiences

There must be stand out evenings over the past few years.  Lady Christmas – Lucy Freeman – told Folkelife about the evening a few years ago at a local pizza restaurant.  This is also the favourite of Sue and Sadie too.

Lucy: “It was wonderful!  The place was packed!  And apologies to all those who were eating their pizzas at the time!”

Sue: “The waitress got in on the entertainment too though, weaving through the audience to deliver the pizzas!”

Sadie: “Everyone was there, it showed how diverse our audience can be.  There was someone with a learning disability who was ticking through the performance.  It was the opera night, and to be so close to these wonderfully powerful voices was such a privilege.  At one point, the tenor put his hand on the shoulder of this member of the audience and sang a note which resonated through him and the whole audience.  This man was so enthralled by the singer and followed him around with his eyes for the rest of the evening.”

Sue: “Well, there wasn’t any space to move!  The children could touch the singers’ feet, sitting around them in a circle.  The soprano was singing and stretched out her hand, and one of the children reached out to touch her too.  It gives me goosebumps just remembering the evening!”

Folkestone’s magical christmas

Lucy: “It’s wonderful being a part of this, it’s really magical!  Does it mean that Christmas Day is a let-down?  Well, as long as my family know to count down with me when we open each door in the house, I’m sure we’ll have just as much fun!  I wear my dress all Christmas just to keep the feeling going!” 

Sadie: “I think this is what’s so special about the Living Advent Calendar.  Where else can you go where you can touch the performers, and have such a magical experience.  It’s important to be so close too, because it means the audience do get involved, and feel that they are part of this experience.” 

performance art includes everyone

Sadie: “We are not passive observers; and that’s particularly important in a town that is regenerating itself through art and the creative industries.  We have to be involved, together, all of us do, and it doesn’t matter if you don’t understand it.  To have a connection with a voice coming out of someone’s mouth right there… It’s like there’s some connection with the universe, you don’t need to understand anything!”

Lucy: “That night at the pizza restaurant, during the interval, the children erupted into singing. I remember Sue and I standing at the foot of the stairs weeping with joy at how beautiful it all was!”

Sue: “And we mustn’t get complacent or bored with our planning so we’ve come up with new ideas, new venues, new acts and new ways of celebrating live performance together for years to come.  Sometimes we need a rest year, and that was last year, so we are back ready to take on 2026!  I do love doing this, but you need a little rest afterwards!”

Workshops will be announced on the FLAC website from late October, and the doors will be announced in November.  Be sure to be ready behind each one to discover the surprise and make this an essential part of your journey to Christmas.