Organisers of a festival, which is due to be staged in Shropshire next month, say supporters are rallying around a campaign to raise funds for vital Covid-safety measures.
But a final push is needed to ensure Festival at The Edge can provide the best experience possible for visitors to the three-day event at Hopton Court, Cleobury Mortimer.
“Festival at the Edge has many loyal supporters and they’ve responded to our Crowdfunder magnificently,” said Peter Chand of the FaTE organising team. “So far, we have had more than 100 people pledging more than £3,200 and this will contribute greatly to additional measures needed this year, such as additional sanitisation stations.
“But we’re hoping there’s more support to come as the success of the campaign will have a big impact on how the event can be delivered this year due to significant additional COVID security costs. We are asking friends of the festival and local businesses to dig deep to help us if they can. ”
Festival at the Edge is a Shropshire success story and 2021 will be its 28th year, making it England’s oldest storytelling festival.
The Crowdfunder campaign has a range of exciting awards on offer at different donation levels, these include beer from Cleobury Mortimer’s Hobsons Brewery, unique experiences such as the chance to have a favourite storyteller send you a personalised tale via Zoom and the chance to introduce a performer live on stage, and culinary experiences, such as an authentic Russian meal served by one of the festival’s performers, delivered together with a Russian folk song.
Festival at the Edge was due to be held at Hopton Court for the first time last year but fell foul of the Covid-19 pandemic. This year’s festival takes place from July 16 to July 18.
Peter said: “We were determined to go ahead in 2021 as we all need a release following three lockdowns in recent times. Festival at the Edge is family friendly and features entertainment aimed at all age groups. We attract award winning storytellers and folk singers from across Europe to Shropshire each summer.
The packed programme is supplemented with craft stalls and fantastic food, while Hobsons Brewery will be running a beer tent. There’s an opportunity to camp on site and tickets for one day, two or three days.
To support the Crowdfunder campaign, please go online to https://crowdfunder.co.uk/fate2021.
Hopton Court is located on the edge of the hamlet of Hopton Wafers, between Ludlow and Kidderminster and is set in parkland, amidst 1800 acres of beautiful Shropshire countryside.
ENDS
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