Coming Up in West Sussex
The Ahead of the Game cultural programme has taken great steps in recent months, and much is planned for the rest of 2010.
Blue Touch Paper Carnival has the ambition to enable carnivals across the world to create a more accessible, inclusive, integrated and friendly carnival experience. Building slowly in time for London 2012, our development programme places disabled people at the centre of the design process to find ways to release the spirit of Carnival in events that radically differ from the traditional Carnival parade.
Having been awarded the London 2012 Inspire Mark for our vision, the first event ran on London 2012 Open Weekend in 2009. The website www.btpcarnival.co.uk is where to find out more. 
Experts in disability are working closely with Carnival experts from around the world, hosted in West Sussex. The most recent showcase was part of Horsham Carnival's London 2012 Open Weekend activities.
The next step is the Big Blue Draw in September and October, involving over 1,000 disabled people with a team of illustrators and carnival designers, through the Blue Touch Paper web site. This is the first step towards the realization of an Installation, Carnival piece, as part of the World Island Games on the Isle of Wight in June 2011.
Whispering Woods, a county-wide singing project leading to a choir of several hundred creating a public performance for woodland in the High Weald, got off to a great start. We hosted one of Europe's leading young people's music and dance ensembles in a unique international collaboration with Zagorche from Bulgaria. The London Bulgarian Choir, who are hosting Zagorche, led masterclasses at Steyning Grammar School, and The Bourne School, Southbourne. A free taster session took place at the Hawth Theatre in Crawley on June 12, bringing together all levels of singers, including those who can't read music.
The first full performance will be at 6.30pm on Sunday 26 September in Crawley. A taster of what to expect took place on the 24 July as part of London 2012 Open Weekend activities.
The Seed (formerly known as Great Gardens of Sussex) is supporting the development of an Alternative Reality Game and live outdoor dance and theatre, with four high-profile West Sussex visitor attractions linked by a common history: Wakehurst Place, Nymans, Borde Hill, and High Beeches. Goat & Monkey theatre company are designing a virtual treasure trail (a quest) that will take place over the internet, and through illustrations and trails in the gardens, which can only be solved through watching the final performances in the gardens (either in person or on-line).
The game and performances are inspired by the remarkable stories of the nineteenth century plant hunters, some of them related by family, who collectively returned with the largest collection of rare chinese plants outside Europe and nurtured them in 'The Great Gardens of Sussex'.
A preview of The Seed was launched in May 2010, at Borde Hill Gardens. To see photos of the event you can view the gallery here. The Seed will now build on this showcase and is aiming to launch in April 2011.
The Child and the Magic is one of the most adventurous artist-led projects in the Ahead of the Game cultural programme - the ambition is to create an outdoor production of Ravel’s Children’s Opera master piece, ‘L’ Enfant et Les Sortileges’, translated into English as ‘The Child and the Magic’.
Following the first public event as part of London 2012 Open Weekend 2009, which highlighted the projected animation that will be central to the design of the production, a `showcase of ideas` took place in November at St Andrew's CE Primary School, Steyning. The next steps are being planned.