The money
provided by 'Awards for All' was
essential in ensuring the
success of the May Fayre held on 30th
April 2005 at Castle
Gardens, Leicester.
Being a new
group the resources available
mainly consisted of
voluntary work hours (see report) and £43 membership fees,
plus
use of members' computers, 'phones, travel expenses, programme
adverts, raffle prizes, etc. The original estimates were sometimes
inaccurate owing to inexperience. Thanks to the valued assistance of
Shriti Patel, the project co-ordinator, we secured funding from
Leicester City Council Community Grants and Awards For All.
On the day
everyone concerned and most of
those attending agreed it
was extremely successful, with an attendance of over 2000. The Park
Services were pleased with the event as there was no damage to the
park and everyone respected the environment and left the park in good
order. Thanks especially to Complete Wasters.
Those
participating in the event all
expressed willingness to repeat
the experience, though the day was marred by the non-appearance of
Dipak Kumar and his Good Values Club. Contacted later he expressed
much regret but he was under the impression it was in May as it was a
'May Fayre'! All the dances were much enjoyed with people joining in
the maypole dancing.
Section
1: Spending
See
accounts section for details.
Maypole
ribbons included VAT, not included on the original quote.
Over 130
Morris dancing groups were contacted, but Hastings and Rochester
competitions co-incided so no teams were available, and Lapis Lazuli
were substituted.
The
Bhangra and Indian dancers gave shorter performances with fewer
people than agreed.
The face
painters required additional face paints to be bought.
Marquees
totalled more than the original quote.
The bouncy
castles were under budget because a ball pond for younger children
was substituted for one of the bouncy castles.
Barrier
tape cheaper than expected. No charge was made for fire
extinguishers.
Further
stewarding hours were required to cover the car park, provided free
by De Montfort University, and the possibility of over-emotional
rugby and soccer fans (one match was moved to Sunday in the event).
This required an extra radio. Yellow jackets were extra.
The radios
budget did not include VAT, the extra radio, or delivery charges.
Section
2: Benefits
1. It
enabled the Beltane Spring Fayre Group to hold the first of its
celebratory events, the May Fayre at Castle Gardens,Leicester on
Saturday April 30th
2005.
2. It
enabled us to meet with African, Asian and Chinese communities,
working with them on the event itself and at other festivals,
including the grand Finale, as part of the 'Leicester & Me'
series of festivals.
3. It acted
as a focus for groups from Nottingham, Coventry, Hinckley and
Leicester, as well as individuals from Leicester, to reduce isolation
and add to community cohesion.
4. It
resulted in 30 people volunteering on the day and many more offering
to help next year.
5. It
helped to establish ourselves as a representative community group.
6. It
provided a wonderful day of entertainment in a safe environment for
the participants and visitors of
all ages.
7. It
enabled 5 local poets to present their work in a different milieu (3
other poets felt unable to perform without amplification- this will
be solved next year); a labyrinth was created with talks on its
mythical significance; there were a recreation of Viking Warrior
Society; talks on history; the spectacle of dances from different
cultures; a jester and town crier to entertain; 5 different bands to
perform. An art display did not happen as the tent became
unavailable.
None of
this would have been possible without Awards for All.
Number
benefiting Approx 2200,
including particpants and visitors – see Analysis section for
breakdown.
Accounts
There are two
parts to the accounts. Firstly, a summary of
expenditure covering the 3 grant bodies and a statement of total
income. Secondly, a detailed list of expenditure covered by the
grant. Budgeted costs are shown for comparison. Invoice copies are
enclosed.
We overspent
on
the Awards For All grant, mainly due to extra
stewarding hours. The overspend was paid for from the proceeds of a
soft drinks stall, a raffle, and programme sales.
Much of the
underspend for the Community Grant was generated by
doing designs, signs, printer ready copy, and small scale print runs,
in-house, with our labour free. We also obtained a one-off discount
on some of the printing, which will not be repeated.
We underspent
the Leicester & Me grant, mainly because licence
costs were waived by the Council.
Photos
Some photos are
included – we have
about 350 on the enclosed
CD.
Please contact before publishing any of the photos, so we can
attribute the photos correctly. We do not have permission of
guardians for any shots of children to be published, but we can
pixelate the faces if needed.
Publicity
Press
cuttings
previewing and reporting the event are enclosed. An
A5 leaflet was produced, with an explanation of Beltane on the
reverse. A one-sided A3 poster version was supplied to libraries,
etc. There is a permanent web site at www.beltanefayre.org
. A programme booklet (also in a large print version) was sold on the
day.
Volunteers
We had 17
full-time volunteers on the day, working for over 120 (wo)man hours.
There were many individuals who helped out with transport,
stewarding, etc. We estimate about 1200 (wo)man hours were worked
before the event. One of us has had to lend the group almost
£1000,
while invoices were being processed by Leicester & Me. Other
organisations may not be able to do this, and a better system is
essential if low income earners' participation is to be encouraged.
