County Press article about Financial plight

This article appeared in The Isle of Wight County Press last weekend and it highlights the seriousness of our situation. Mel Payn the Chairperson of Ryde Carnival Association, has reiterated the problems that we face after Claire Kay, our web ,had raised the issue the week before with IW Radio and Meridian TV. All we ask is that the community of Ryde help keep the carnival going. Nothing could be worse than in a few years local businesses complaining that they have lost approximately £1 million in revenue because the carnival folded.

By Emily Pearce - Thursday, April 17, 2008 IW County Press.
A WARNING has been issued Ryde Carnival might be forced to fold, due to lack of money.
Organisers have blamed the community for bringing the carnival, thought to be the oldest such street festival in the country, to the brink of closure.
Mel Payn, chairman of Ryde Carnival Association, said: “The carnival costs around £10,000 to stage each year and most of that comes from street collections and other fundraising. We also receive £1,000 from Ryde Town Management Committee, which comes from the budget allocated by the IW Council but that amount is not guaranteed every year.
“The real problem is the lack of community support for the carnival. I just don’t think people are aware of the cost and where we get the money from. Lots of people who watch the carnival are very generous but I would estimate around half of the spectators don’t give anything at all. About 45,000 people alone  watch the illuminated carnival and if they put in just 50p each we would raise more than £20,000.
“This is not a gripe at the council. Of course, we would love to have more money from it but it’s really up to the community to support the carnival. It brings more money into the community than any other event and businesses, which stand to gain the most from it, could definitely be more helpful when it comes to collecting money.
“At the moment, we do not have enough money in the budget for the next two years. I would implore people to put just £1 in our buckets.
“Where else could you get such great entertainment for that amount of money? Ryde Carnival is a fantastic spectacle and a great cultural event. It really is worth saving.”

This entry was posted on 23/04/2008 at 04:04 am and is filed under Raising Awareness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

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