The
money provided by the
Single Community Programme, as part of the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund
administered by Voluntary Action Leicester, was essential to the
event. Our thanks go to Bina Cohen and all at VAL for all their help.
Applications to the Arts Council and various charitable bodies for
extra funding took up nine weeks of planning time and met with no
success. A continuing project is more difficult to find funds for
than initial and start-up projects. Resources available mainly
consisted of volunteers' work hours, and use of members' computers
and phones, as well as programme adverts, stall fees, raffles, etc.
A loan of £2000 was offered to ensure the event went ahead,
and
Leicester Investment Fund for the Environment (LIFE) offered
£200
to sponsor the bicycle generator.
On the day,
a successful event went ahead with most performers, especially the
musicians, offering to accept a reduced fee or or no fee at all.
Approximately 3000-3400 people attended. Although the maypole
ribbons weren't delivered, the Patersons bought their portable
maypole to ensure the event went ahead. The original caterers, Samosa
King, couldn't attend as they failed to find a diesel generator, but
McIndians stepped into the breach at the last minute. They were
augmented by a tea and snacks tent, sandwiches from the Wildlife
Hospital, and an ice cream van.
Parks
Services participated and, like last year, were pleased with the way
the day went. Complete Wasters cleared the site of rubbish, and no
damage was done to the Park. The event was much larger than last year
and it took until 9pm to clear the last marquee from the park.
Section
1: Spending and accounts
See
accounts section for details.
As noted
above, many performers refused or reduced their fees: many thanks to
all of them.
Printing
costs were much reduced by obtaining better quotes, lowering print
runs, and cancelling the A3 poster.
We
underspent the SCP grant by £86.01: a cheque is returned to
VAL. Thistle Loos gave us a better price than last year, saving
£98.
We decided to employ fewer Workbank stewards as we felt six were
enough to cover eventualities requiring their training. Cheaper
auxiliary stewards were employed in the car park, for traffic
direction, and as general help. This saved £128. Instead of
hiring two-way radios, we bought eight pmr sets, having tested a pair
on site to ensure they were suitable. This saved about £37
and
provides an asset for future festivals. First aid costs were
£35
higher than budgeted. Office expenses were higher than expected and
we bought more photos from those taken by the Leicester Mercury.
The lack of
grant income was disappointing. A £200 grant from LIFE was
most
welcome, but it has yet to be paid because of changes to their
accounting system and an audit (NOW PAID - 3/11/06). A sponsor,
“@ the
Source”,
have
also promised half their takings from their healers' tent, delayed by
restructuring of the group. Income from stalls was £309 more
than budget, but raffle ticket and soft drink sales were low: the
latter probably affected by the tea tent also selling soft drinks.
One of us (AM) has loaned/donated £2000, the exact proportion
depending on the final figures, to cover any losses.
Leicester
City Council, while very helpful in most respects, appear to be
discouraging festivals in one way. The Markets department charged
£300 for a rival markets licence, despite the non profit
making
nature of our event. We use the market stall revenues to subsidise
the other voluntary organisations' stalls. Do they really want us to
charge them? They could do more to encourage voluntary organisations.
Section
2: Benefits
The second
Beltane Spring Fayre held on 29th
April 2006, on the same
site as the first, was 50% bigger.
It helped
establish the group as a representative community group.
It consolidated
the impression made in 2005, that here was a multicultural event of
entertainment for all to enjoy in a relaxed safe atmosphere that
appealed to all the family. Other community festivals seem happy to
present only their own cultures.
It enabled us to
meet and work with particularly West Indian and Asian communities and
individuals, learning more about them.
It drew in
groups from Nottingham, Derby, Coventry, and Hinckley, as well as
groups and individuals from Leicester, reducing the isolation felt by
many pagans and adding to community cohesion.
It resulted in
35 people volunteering on the day, mainly so stall holders could take a
break or give workshops, putting up signs, fetching refreshments,
moving equipment, etc.
It enabled
twelve local poets (Sikh, Hindu, West Indian, and white British) to
present their work in a different milieu with battery powered
amplification specially created for them.
5 bands and ten
singer/songwriters, all with original material, were able to showcase
their talents at a dedicated music marquee, the tea tent, and the
maypole stage.
We were able to
demonstrate and publicise a 'green' amplification system, powered by
bicycles, for the musicians. It was funded by LIFE.
A local Viking
re-enactment society showed battle prowess and the life of historical
Viking warriors.
Dances of
different cultures were portrayed, including Egyptian, Hindu, Punjabi,
and English, with appropriate costumes – a fun way to get
people
talking about other cultures.
The
demonstration of new age healing arts was very popular and introduced
people to the concept of self and alternative healing techniques. The
Magickal Market displayed alternative new age products and books. This
marquee and the grounds housed a dozen voluntary groups and the
Leicester Social Forum, all provided with free stalls unlike other at
local community and council festivals.
We were happy to
host Leicester Social Forum with their “festival of
alternatives” as part of their May week activities. We
attended
planning meetings and developed relations with many of the different
groups to work with in the future.
The workshops
and lectures on alternative spiritualities were well attended and
provided an opportunity for asking questions about any of the
participating cultures.
A handfasting
took place on the Motte, open to the public so all could view a typical
pagan life event ritual.
Networking
opportunities were available for the pagan and other communities
involved that will be valuable for future work together.
Number
benefiting: Approx 3000 -
3200, including participants and visitors – see Analysis
section
for a breakdown.
Photos
Some
photos are included – we have about 295 . Please
contact us 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
Local press
and radio were involved. The Leicester Mercury published a column
before the event to promote the fayre and reviewed us on the Monday
after. L Vann contributed an article to the 'First Person' column
about Beltane. BBC Radio Leicester broadcast from the park throughout
the day, publicising the bicycle generator and the handfasting (pagan
wedding) held on the Motte. At 11:30am we were featured on Radio
Leicester talking about the event from their studio, and there were
other interviews with participants later in the day. There is an
audio interview with Greta and Paul (the happy couple) on the BBC
website (see our website for links, and a recording is on the
enclosed CD).
Lack of
funding precluded an A3 poster, but we did manage to send out an A5
flyer. A small number of self-printed A4 posters were utilised to
advertise the bicycle generator in bike shops in the hope of getting
volunteer cyclists, and to advertise the healing tent through
“@
the Source”.
The event
was publicised on “what's on” and pagan forum web
sites
(see web
site for links).
Press
cuttings previewing and reporting the event are in this report. There
is a permanent web site at www.beltanefayre.org
. A programme booklet (also in a large print version) was sold on the
day. It did not sell well despite being priced at 50p.
Volunteers
Thanks to
the Leicester Pagan Alliance, Charnwood Grove, and the Hearth of
Arianrhod, we had 35 full-time volunteers on the day, working for
over 200 (wo)man hours. We estimate about 1200 (wo)man hours were
worked before the event. One of us has had to lend the group
£2000
to prevent the cancellation of the event and all the work going to
waste. Many other organisations could not do this, nor could they
easily find the goodwill that we were able to call on from the
participants. If low income earners' participation is to be
encouraged, a better system of funding is essential, with the
perceived prejudice of the Arts Council and other powerful bodies
seeming to prefer the bigger events with well known performers.
Further
assistance and training with fundraising procedures and training
needs have been provided since the event by VAL, including an
evaluation of group procedures and prioriities that will be helpful
in implementing further group activities in October, hopefully
improving our festival planning methods.
