The Earl's Court Festival (www.earlscourtfestival.co.uk) is an arts and community event which this year sees over 45 events in 30 days, with most ticketed at £7 and under. It celebrates music, theatre, film, literature, and aims to represent and includes the entire community.

Earl's Court is a small, busy district on the edge of central London. Famous for its exhibition centres - built in the late 1930's but soon to be no more - there is a bustling mix of people. It has been given numerous epithets; from Kangaroo Valley (lots of Australians), to Hotel Alley (almost as many hotels as Australians). The Earl's Court Festival has chosen a description of the area which aims to capture its eclecticism and quirkiness - 'Exotic Cultures, Hidden Curiosities'.

In part, this is because the Festival itself is a curious, hidden thing. With no local authority funding, the organising team of two struggles each year to produce a world-class festival. Festival highlights this year include:

The Historic Hogarth Road Street Fair (4 July) - Live music from the stage that launched double Brit Award winners JLS, a jam-packed Street Market and children’s entertainments. Exotic Cultures National Photographic Competition in association with STA Travel (open entry until 12 July). Breakfast with the Ambassador (16 July) - Journalist and independent MP, Martin Bell in conversation with the Ambassador of Afghanistan in five star restaurant Langan's Coq d'Or (includes breakfast). Heartthrob Breakfast (17 July) - Who wants to be a millionaire when you can share champagne breakfast with Chris Tarrant and TV's John Stapleton? No need to go 50/50, phone a friend and bring them down; we ask for your audience. Invictus: Playing the Enemy (23 July) - Award-winning journalist and author John Carlin discusses his friendship with Nelson Mandela and the adaptation of his book for Hollywood. The Court Cabaret (27 July) - Comedy from Sarah-Louise Young (Fringe Report Awards, Best Actress 2003) and Abandoman. The Earl's Court Burlesque (29 July) - The London Academy of Burlesque invite you to a Rock 'n' Roll Burlesque spectacular at Miss Q's, to raise funds for the Festival. Mamma Mia! On the Square (30 July) - A lycra-clad musical spectacular under the stars, singing and dancing mandatory.

It's a varied programme which we've had to beg borrow and steal to put together. The reality of creating a festival with no budget and barely any staff is far from glamorous - at times it's more fiasco than fiesta on the road to success. Last month's mission was 'Operation Replace Paul Rose'. 'Oceans and Icecaps' - a literary event including talks from 24-year-old polar explorer Alex Hibbert and BBC presenter and Oceanic explorer Paul Rose - lost its Oceans when, much to his disappointment, Paul was forced to cancel. Cue a week of frantic phone calls. The Earl's Court Festival has now spoken to pretty much every adventurer in the South East of England - the only discovery being that half of these explorers drink in the local pub. It's not the most epic trek, but I'm sure we will be joining them soon.

Then there are the day-to-day strange moments of Festival life. Wheeling gazebos from one end of Chelsea to the other in milk crates wearing high-heels, scavenging for fake grass in the recycling plant of the Earl's Court Exhibition Centre, talking to bomb-disposal experts, painting your own office with a group of qualified bankers. And meeting legendary Russell Henderson, founder of the famous Notting Hill Carnival - which actually began in Earl's Court.

Partly the madness of life in our office comes from the form of the festival. Events happen all over the area and all run at cost. Even with our zero-pound budget, we can keep going because we stoutly refuse to pay anyone more than peanuts. It doesn't make co-ordination easy though.

Festival venues include:

The Troubador - historic café-bar and restaurant with a famous downstairs club frequented by names as big as Bob Dylan. The Poet's House - Victorian villa on Earl's Court Square where the influential Poetry Society was formed. The Mosaic Rooms - modern gallery space, in a palatial mansion a stone's throw from High Street Kensington. Brompton Cemetery & Chapel - Earl's Court's only open community space, the Grade 1 listed ground is home to the graves of Emmeline Pankhurst (leader of the suffragette movement) and Fanny Brawne (muse to John Keats). As well as those who gave their names to Beatrix Potter's animal characters. Gallery 286 - secret idyll on a busy road; step away from the traffic into a hub of modern art and a tranquil continental garden. Miss Q's - Earl's Court's newest venue; run by the founders of Koko and Madame Jojo's, this is an underground space in which the Festival will be pioneering the idea of late-night literature.

Festival acts Include:

Jo King & Guests - the Founder of the London Academy of Burlesque brings her Rock 'n' Roll best to Earl's Court. John Carlin - author of the novel Playing the Enemy, the book behind the film Invictus starring Matt Daemon and Morgan Freeman. Sarah-Louise Young - outstanding cabaret artist debuts the sequel to Cabaret Whore, her 5-star Edinburgh Festival Fringe Show 2009. Bill Bruford - former drummer of Yes and Genesis. Abandoman - Hackney Empire award-winning improvised Hip-Hop trio, fresh from a stint at the E4 Udderbelly on London’s Southbank. Chris Tarrant and John Stapleton - TV legends. Swoop Productions - the theatre company behind the rave-review 2008 production Hangover Sqaure; 4-star Guardian, 4-star The Times. Fenella Barton - world-renowned classical violinist. David Crystal - possibly the world’s leading linguist. Giacinto Palmieri - Hackney Empire finalist comic, whimsical Italian Misfit.

The two Rebeccas behind this year's Festival (director Rebecca Claydon and administrator Rebecca Gibson) aren't super-women, and we could absolutely not have produced the Festival programme alone. We are supported by the trustees of the Earl's Court Community Trust. This charity, registered in 2007, supports local community initiatives. And our dedicated volunteers are always on hand to help things run as smoothly as they can be expected to. Special mention must go to Keith Mortimer Clancy, the Literary Festival co-ordinator who believes (as we do now) in the expansion of the Festival into an 'Olympics of Thought' for 2012. It is with his efforts and the unstoppable charm of Oscar the dog, that we have had so many successes this year. Thanks to Keith Mortimer Clancy we have been in and out of embassies all over Kensington and Chelsea, presenting the Festival to Estonia, Korea, Afghanistan, Portugal, The Philippines, Ireland and many more countries. We'd also like to thank all the local arts groups that we have close relationships with: The Finborough Theatre, Swoop Productions and The Malleables; and SEB Collective, a local music agency which harnesses and platforms the best of local young talent. Thanks too to the community group which has inspired and prodded the Festival along over the past few months. Meeting this disparate band of people once a month for biscuits, fruit juice, and updates as to which historic trains we can expect to spy over the coming weeks, has been the most helpful of hindrances. It is very special to see the local Guiding Officer in conversation with the founders of London's most iconic night-clubs. Having such a mixed bag of local people on our side has kept spirits high.

The Festival's project over the next few years is to form even more partnerships, corporate partnerships, partnerships with local businesses, schools, arts groups, performers; whatever you do or have, we would love to be friends with you.

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(c) Rebecca Gibson 1 July 2010

For more information, contact 020 7370 0015. Festival Director: Rebecca Claydon (Honey Events Ltd.). Literary Co-ordinator: Keith Mortimer Clancy. Administrator: Rebecca Gibson. The Earl's Court Festival is a project of the Earl's Court Community Trust. Registered Charity No: 1126021. www.earlscourtfestival.co.uk

Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012

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