It was a record-breaking month for Haslemere Festival’s longest running event, with more than 50 activities showcasing the breadth of cultural and community life in the town.

The month began with VE Day commemorations on Lion Green on 10 May, where warm weather and a Spitfire fly-past drew hundreds of residents. The Green remained busy throughout the month with popular events including the RSPCA Dog Show and the Haslemere Classic Car Show — which featured 90 cars taking a scenic drive around West Sussex. The winner of the ‘car they would like to take home’ was a Citroën DS19m Décapotable, designed by legendary French coachbuilder Henri Chapron and owned by Stephen Frost from Abinger Common.

The Festival also marked the 100th anniversary of the original Haslemere Festival – Arnold Dolmetsch’s Early Music Festival – with a weekend of talks, concerts, and ensemble performances. Recorder players from across the UK joined in, culminating in the debut of a new work by local composer Clive Osgood. Among the performers were Marguerite Dolmetsch, granddaughter of the founder, and her husband Brian Blood.

Haslemere’s main venues hosted a series of sold-out concerts featuring high-profile classical musicians including the London Mozart Players, Angela Hewitt, and Jeneba Kanneh-Mason. Local groups such as Haslemere Musical Society and the Harlequin Chamber Choir also featured prominently.

Talks and workshops ran throughout the Festival, covering topics ranging from artificial intelligence to the novels of Jane Austen. Other events included bell-ringing, wine tastings, jazz, folk, comedy, and children’s theatre.

Festival Chair Adrian Stent said: “With more than 50 events, Haslemere Festival once again showed the remarkable depth and diversity of talent in and around Haslemere. Planning has already started for an even bigger and more diverse Haslemere Festival in May 2027.”

The winners of the festival’s raffle, along with the businesses that supplied the prizes, are as follows:

  • Barlow, N. – Links Tavern, Liphook
  • Bradley, Gay – Oliver's Coffee Shop and Wine Bar
  • Brooks, J. – The Prince of Wales, Hammer
  • Brown, Raymond – Lion's Den
  • Burnett – Chilli Nights
  • Burns, Dan – Three Horseshoes, Lickfold
  • David, Clare – Banyan, Fernhurst
  • Dell, Marion – Dilli Indian Fine Dining
  • Asha Senapati – Ask Italian
  • Hamilton, Gordon – Harpers
  • Harrison, C. – Pizza Express
  • Harrould, A. – Mulberry, Chiddingfold
  • Helen – Swan Inn, Haslemere
  • Hutton, Katherine – Swan Inn, Chiddingfold
  • Major, Andy – Moma
  • Margetts – Links Tavern, Liphook
  • Mason, Letizia – Guido's Pizza, Liphook
  • Nattrass, D. – Ask Italian
  • Pearce, Louise – Ask Italian
  • Robini, John – The White Horse
  • Sewell, D. – Ask Italian
  • Stathers – Mill Tavern
  • Taske, V. – Coppa Club
  • Weatherburn, E. – Sabai Thai
  • Woodhead, Rita – Mulberry, Chiddingfold