May 2021 Shanty Newsletter

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Grants

Last months newsletter saw us anxiously awaiting results of grant applications. Well, we have good news and bad news on this front. Harwich Town Council, long term supporters of the Festival have generously agreed to support us again this year and we are very grateful to them for their continued help.

Our large grant application to the Arts Council has however been turned down and this is a huge blow to the Festival. We have started the year with depleted funds due to last years cancelled Festival and find ourselves in a precarious position, made worse due to the obvious uncertainties which the Covid pandemic may yet inflict upon us.

Our 2021 Festival is already slimmed down to cope with Covid possibilities, but due to this failure to secure funds we have now had to cancel some Artists we were hoping could entertain us this year. The remaining confirmed Artists are due to be published on our website later this month and we still intend to deliver a first class Festival with first class entertainment, but the lack of support is both worrying and disappointing. We still await the results of one further small application, but there is no doubt that we shall need support to rebuild the Festival over the next few years. Volunteer stewards, donations or attendance at this years Festival will all help to ensure our future, so please help in any way you can and we hope to see as many of you as possible over the weekend of 8-10th October. 

Treasure Hunt

We are thrilled to report however that the Treasure Hunt on 17th April was a huge success, raising a record £370 for our funds. Not only that, but a splendid day’s entertainment was enjoyed by all who took part. The sun shone on the hundred or so Treasure Hunters who filled the town searching for clues, with the eventual winners being as follows:

Adults:

1st prize – Team Dace and Two’s Company (tied)

3rd prize – Martyrs

Children:

1st prize – George & Adam Rudland, 

2nd Prize - Henry Wynne-Jones

3rd Prize – Hazel Prosser

Congratulations to them and indeed to all who took part. Some of the questions were quite tough. Look out for next year’s Hunt which we are considering holding in the Spring again, with an alternative activity at Christmas.

Merchandise

Still a few CDs left as mentioned in previous newsletters, but we will be ordering new T. Shirts and possibly some other stock very soon. Watch out for announcements – and of course every purchase helps fund the future of the Festival!

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