Morecambe Town Council has awarded a combined total of £10,995 to four more organisations in support of various festivals and events due to take place in the town.
Bare Community Association has been awarded £2,500 to support the production of three events in the village of Bare throughout the year. The first of these, BareFest, takes place this weekend (8 June) with a parade, music, stalls, competitions and various entertainments planned in celebration of the village, with Bare Remembers (10 Nov) and Christmas on the Crescent (30 Nov) to follow later in the year.
Marisa Seddon, Chair of Bare Community Association, said, ‘On behalf of the Bare Community Association, residents and businesses of Bare, I would like to thank Morecambe Town Council for their support. This grant enables us to host events in Bare Village and to continue the historical tradition, started in 1910, of the Bare Village Pageant and Inauguration of a Lord Mayor of Bare.’
Northern Silents have been awarded £2,500 to help bring Silents by the Sea – a new festival celebrating classic cinema with live music – to the Winter Gardens this weekend (8-9 June). Audiences will be treated to iconic films from the earliest years of cinema, including Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid, the original 1925 dinosaur adventure The Lost World, and Georges Méliès’ fantastical 1902 film A Trip to the Moon, all supported by live musical accompaniment.
Jonny Best, artistic director of Northern Silents, said: ‘It’s set to be an incredible two days of live music and big-screen cinema entertainment in the stunning surroundings of Morecambe’s magnificent Winter Gardens. It wouldn’t be possible without the support of many local people and organisations, and we are grateful to Morecambe Town Council for their generous funding towards the festival. This support allows us to offer free tickets for under 18s, making classic silent films with live music accessible to a new generation, and adding to the town’s growing cultural community.‘
Morecambe Artist Colony have been awarded £2,995 in support of Morecambe People’s Biennial (6-7 July), an event celebrating the work and contribution to the community of Morecambe-based creatives, from artists and photographers to dancers and musicians.
Local artist Anthony Padgett, organiser of Morecambe People’s Biennial, said, ‘There are so many brilliant creative people in the area and they receive no funding whilst people from outside the area are funded. We are grateful to Morecambe Town Council for this show of appreciation for all the
great work local creative people do to help make Morecambe a better place to live in, and for the mental and physical health benefits they bring to our communities.’
Finally, the West End Players were awarded £3,000 to support their activities over the coming year. Plans include mummers’ play Moby Dick, to be performed on the Promenade throughout the summer and as part of the new Maritime Festival (Aug 24); two new shows for pantomime season – Die Hard the Musical (reimagined in Morecambe, with the Polo Tower taking the place of Nakatomi Plaza), and Peter Pan; the return of Morecambe Fringe Festival (5-28 July), which brings comedy, theatre, spoken word, cabaret and other entertainments to venues and stages around Morecambe’s West End; and an ongoing programme of comedy, poetry, and variety nights at the West End Playhouse.