Palestine On The Pier Returns with UK's First 'Thobe Show'

Hastings Sunday 4 September 2022. 12 until 6pm. Free Entry

This year Hastings Pier Entertainment and Hastings & Rye PSC are taking over the whole pier with a full programme of entertainment and activities for the whole family. Check out our promo video here.

Sunday's running order:
12.10 Jamal and Alaa
1.10  Storyteller Elias Matar
1.40  Hawiyya Dance Company
2.10  Heritage Dress Display
2.50  The Owlers
3.30  Modern Dress Display
4.10  Hawiyaa Dance Company and DJ Saliah
4.30  Samer Rashed
6.00  DJ Saliah

Talking Tent
12.30  Miranda Allan: 'Growing up in a refugee camp in Jordan'
1.20  Iyas Al Qasem: 'Expulsion: A Family Divided'
2.30  Leah Levane: 'Visiting Masafer Yatta - a community under threat'
3.20  Elias Mattar: 'Being Palestinian in Israel'
4.10  Momo Abu Zard: 'A Palestinian life in exile'

The main stage will feature the world class viola player and composer Samer Rashed who is flying in from occupied East Jerusalem to perform with his UK band playing his blend of gypsy jazz with an Arabic twist.

The centrepiece of this year's event is a catwalk show of heritage thobes flown in from Ramallah with heritage expert Imtiyaz Hussein presenting the collection of tatreez embroidered dresses, sourced from all over Palestine. This show has never been put on in the UK before and some of the dresses are over 150 years old.

The Hawiyya Dance Company will be back at Palestine on the Pier this year with Dabke performances throughout the day including a debut collaboration with DJ Saliah on an original track tailored for Hawiyya.

DJ Saliah is a British-Lebanese Electronic music producer who made her debut appearance at Glastonbury 2022. Apart from her collaboration with Hawiyya, DJ Saliah will be playing us out at 6pm after Samer Rashed's performance.

Jamal and Alaa will once again perform traditional Arabic music on the oud and percussion.

The Owlers is a collaboration between four Hastings musicians. Their original compositions are woven with improvisations, and draw particular inspiration from Arabic and Balkan music, both traditional and modern. The band members are Frank Moon - oud; Björn Dahlberg - clarinet, bass clarinet; Rob Leake - bass clarinet; Nick Smalley - percussion.

There will be a children's corner featuring Palestinian storyteller Elias Mattar and kite-making workshops, stalls selling Palestinian food and drinks, Palestinian handicrafts and Zaytoun products, 'Tatreez' embroidery workshops will be held at The Nest over the weekend with expert Miranda Allan (see right hand column). Art in the Park/ Arts on Prescription will help run our kite-making workshop for kids.

Talking Tent. A chance to find out about Palestinian lives, experiences and history. Find out what links the culture, heritage and history through talks on 'Life as a Palestinian exile,' being a Palestinian citizen of Israel and growing up in a Palestinian refugee camp.

Areej Kaoud at the Big Yin. Contemporary Palestinian artist Areej Kaoud will be showing her work at the Big Yin gallery on Saturday 3rd 11am - 5pm and Sunday 4th 12 noon - 3pm. For details see right hand column.

Photos from left, clockwise: heritage thobes; Samer Rashed; Hawiyya at last year's Palestine On The Pier; Jamal and Alaa; Hawiyya's newest member Zeina; Elias Mattar.
  
  

Left: Frank Moon, the Big Yin, DJ Saliah.
  

Palestine On The Pier 2021
The very first Palestine on the Pier took place last year, attracting a crowd of over 1,000. Our write-up with videos and photos. Click here.