Morecambe festivals including Pride and Vintage given grants as council awards £31,000

Wednesday, 12 July 2023 13:56

By Greg Lambert @greglam72

The Morecambe Vintage by the Sea festival has been awarded £10,000

A total of £31,372 has been awarded to Morecambe festivals by the town council.

Grants awarded at a Morecambe Town Council meeting last night included £9,000 for Morecambe Pride, £10,000 for Vintage by the Sea, £5,372 for the 1940s Revival Festival, and £7,000 for the West End Players and Morecambe Fringe Festival.

Thousands of people flock to Morecambe each year to enjoy its festivals, which are estimated to bring over £5m to the local economy.

"I am delighted the council has awarded this much needed funding to our local organisations," said Councillor Margaret Pattison, chair of the town council festivals and events committee.

"Festivals are the lifeblood of Morecambe and the town council has a long history of supporting this essential programme of events, which has become a part of the fabric of our community."

Morecambe Pride takes place on Saturday July 29.

Robert Mee, organiser of Morecambe Pride, said: "Thank you very much to Morecambe Town Council for investing and supporting equality and diversity in Morecambe and making Morecambe Pride a bigger Pride and enabling us to grow."

Here is the parade at the recent Lancaster Pride.

Morecambe Pride will begin with a march from The Battery at 11am, followed by a live entertainment stage in the Festival Arena on the central Promenade from noon to 6pm.

Entertainment will come from young Morecambe dancer Archie Brooks, Sign Out Loud, a Boy George tribute, Ross Alexander, Conleth Kane, Zoe and Suzanna Dee.

The organisers of Vintage by the Sea announced in May that the popular annual event, celebrating 20th century culture, would go ahead again in 2023, on September 2 and 3.

The Morecambe Fringe event centres around the West End Playhouse on Yorkshire Street in Morecambe and continues with regular performances until the end of July.

"We're absolutely delighted and over the moon that they see the value in the Playhouse and the Fringe," said Matt Panesh, who runs the Morecambe Fringe and West End Playhouse.

"The money will go towards our running costs and keeping us a viable operation."

In May, the town council awarded £11,500 to the Nice 'n' Sleazy punk festival, £3,500 to the Morecambe National Services Celebration Weekend, £2,500 to Bare Community Association for its events Barefest, Bare Remembers, Bare Village Music Festival and Christmas on the Crescent, £4,000 to the Catch the Wind kite festival and £2,000 to the Creative West End Summer Market VR Experience.

Earlier this year, Morecambe Town Council agreed a budget for local festivals and events of £100,000.

Event organisers can apply for funding up to 18 months in advance of their event and the council usually takes up to 12 weeks to decide applications. Applications forms can be found here.

Applicants are encouraged to apply for grants as early as possible.