EA Festival 2022 – A Celebration of Culture at Hedingham Castle, Essex

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The EA Festival is a celebration of culture in East Anglia. It takes place at Hedingham Castle in Essex on 11th – 12th June 2022. I interviewed Joanne Ooi, the founder of the EA Festival, to find out more about the weekend event!

What is the EA Festival?

A cultural organisation seeking to foster a more robust creative ecosystem in East Anglia by producing high-quality events all over the region beginning with its main weekend festival held at Hedingham Castle during the summer, taking place this year on 11/12 June. 

What inspired you to put together a festival like this?

I wanted to break out of the inertia and lassitude of COVID in 2020 and, therefore, set myself a major goal. It became obvious that, if I didn’t create my own project, nothing exciting was going to suddenly fall into my lap, so I’d better get on with it. Weirdly, it was COVID that made me think, “Well, NOW, you really have no excuses.” I had been doing some consulting work — but it had ground to a complete halt during that period. 

What areas of culture are covered?

Literature, well-being, history, environment, well-being, poetry, wine, drugs — quite literally, anything worth talking about seriously will get covered.  

What can visitors expect from the festival?

The festival is small and intimate so the audience will be able to talk to all the speakers and performers. And the latter spend the whole day (at least) with us usually. It’s very friendly and there’s a ton of good will in the room. There’s food and drink on the bailey, the green area around the Keep, close to the Castle and lots of picnic tables, so everyone can enjoy a day out. 

What are some of the highlights of the 2022 festival?

Frances Morris, Director of Tate Modern, the Conversation between Maggi Hambling and James Cahill and Lea Ypi.  I believe that those conversations will be among the most spirited, dynamic and unexpected. Plus, they’re all outstanding speakers. I’m also looking forward to John Lloyd interviewing Paul McKenna on stage — because it’ll be fun, memorable and, as with everything with Paul, uplifting. 

The festival is held at Hedingham Castle, what do you think this location brings to the atmosphere of the festival?

The Castle makes the festival special – enchanting even. Not only is it beautiful and historic — with the best-kept Norman keep in the UK — but entering the grounds and discovering the Keep (the heart of Hedingham Castle), imparts a strong sense of discovery. It makes the entire festival weekend a revelation. Ticket holders will have access to the Keep (i.e., the Castle) and there will be an art exhibition — Cambridge Art Fair — inside it. 

Tell us more about the collaboration with the Essex Book Festival and Wild Paths!

Essex Book Festival was our marketing partner last year and this year we’ve co-produced one of our Festival sessions, the Conversation between Maggi Hambling and James Cahill. Ros Green, the director of Essex Book Festival and I are big believers in partnerships and collaboration, so this is just the beginning of what we hope will be a long and fruitful relationship.

Ben Green, founder of Wild Paths is the same. Wild Paths came to my attention via my intern, Elizabeth, actually. She has great taste in music and told me about the Festival. When I saw how eclectic and ambitious it was and the fact that Giles Peterson is involved I thought, they would be a perfect partner for us — especially this year, when, for the first time, we will stage an indie music concert to end the Festival.

Where To Get Tickets 

Tickets are available on the EA Festival website. There are many different options from full day tickets, morning or afternoon passes or entrance to the individual sessions. You can also see the full schedule of the festival, with information about each of the speakers and performers.

Location

The festival takes place at Hedingham Castle, located in Castle Hedingham, Essex. It’s approximately 9 miles from Braintree with a drive time of 25 minutes. Braintree has a direct train line to London Liverpool Street.