Bushey Festival in the Park 2019

Aim

Help us keep Bushey Festival in the Park a FREE event for the whole community to enjoy - raising funds to support the event on 7th July 2019

Bushey Festival began in 1983 and grew to become what is thought to be the largest community festival in Hertfordshire run by volunteers. We do not have paid staff or consultants and any profit from the festival is ploughed back into the community. Our aim is not only to promote the Arts, Culture and Community Life, but also to showcase all that is good about living in Bushey.

Festival 2019

We need to raise at least £12,000 to put on the Festival in the Park - this covers essential costs such has staging, sound and light, marquee hire, facilities hire, insurance, performers fees, security, publicity  etc etc

We are lucky to have some generous supporters, both individuals and local businesses, who share in our vision. However, in order to make this year an even bigger success, whilst standing by our principle of making ‘Festival in the Park’ free to all, we need to raise at least £5,000 from public donations.

Your donation will support will enable us to put on a great festival for the whole community and keep it free of charge. Also, as a Charity, any extra funds after paying for the festival costs are distributed to local organisations - we do not have staff or expensive consultants to pay - all money raised goes directly to the expenses of putting on the Festival in the Park!

The new-look Festival

The 2018 Festival included visits to local schools to deliver lesson plans on Festivals and Communities, and to canvass their ideas and opinions. We compresssed key events into a single week, added some new ones in line with our inclusivity aims and ended with a whole day of activities in King George Recreation Ground.

Aimed at bringing together as many people as possible to showcase all that is good about living in Bushey, the idea was very much to promote ‘community’ and active citizenship through music, arts, sports and activities for all.  Local food and drink providers, arts, craft and charity stall holders took part. A local children’s animal park ran a petting corner and sporting competitions were held (including a bike ride and tug of war). Two stages provided a full programme of music and dance performances including an ‘Open Mic’ and a ‘Bushey’s Got Young Talent’ showcase.

2,000 people attended the finale event, which was extremely well received by everyone involved – musicians, stall holders, performers, volunteers and families and friends who attended. Many positive comments were posted on social media especially from local residents who were heavily involved in the planning.

Why support Community?

Festivals have always been a way of bringing people together and people tell us that this has never been more important. We know from our surveys, work in schools and the responses to Festival 2018 that this is what people are asking for. Inclusivity, Celebrating Diversity and Empowering Young People are (our) key themes.

We’d like you to play a part in making this happen.

This project successfully funded on 22nd February 2019