First Light Festival

First Light Festival is a multi arts festival in a beautiful coastal setting. Celebrating one cycle of midsummer sun setting and rising over the beach in Britain’s most easterly town.

A stunning Victoriana-style glass pavilion overlooking the sea, East Point Pavilion opened in June 2022 and has since become a a key hub for events, food and community in Lowestoft.

Through key programmes, including New Dawn and Playbreak, we’ve supported 180+ local and emerging musicians, at First Light Festival and beyond.

MarketPlace project sees mini-festivals popping up across market towns in Suffolk, with live music, performances, workshops, locally-sourced food and drink as well as children’s activities.

First Light Festival 2023 kicked off with a huge parade celebrating Lowestoft and the animals and people that call this place home. The culmination of months of community workshops and school engagement sessions, the parade was delivered by First Light Festival as part of the nation-wide Hi!Street Fest project with Historic England/Arts Council England and Emergency Exit Arts and with support from East Suffolk Council.

This collaborative project explores the relationship between the young local residents of this vibrant East Suffolk location and their town centre, asking what makes a place relevant and attractive to a younger part of the community.

An exciting new project supporting young Kirkley residents aged 15- 25 to contribute to the Kirkley People’s Forum, giving them voice to express what matters to them and connecting them to opportunities, initiatives and projects.

A ’love letter’ to Lowestoft’s old post office, interrogating its history and opening up a conversation about its future before it is redeveloped and repurposed.

Visit our gallery to watch films and see photos of all our past projects, events and initiatives.