Community company to run the Folk Festival – and more
Arran Events CIC (Community Interest Company) has been started by Jon Hollingworth, Andy Surridge, Andy McCallum and Robin Fisher. The new company will provide benefit to any organisation or group promoting events on the Isle of Arran. Its immediate purpose is to secure the future availability to the community of an extensive PA sound system originally purchased by Arran Folk Festival with Lottery Funding. The present Folk Festival director has decided not to continue owing to work commitments offshore, but there is more to it than that. Part of its aim is to hopefully carry on producing an annual Folk Festival and various meetings have been arranged with potential sponsors to see if that can be achieved. As well as promoting live music, Arran Events has a website, www.arranevents.com , through which it can offer a ‘what’s on’ event/concert guide, available to all event organisers on the island. They say, ‘As well as being fully supportive of the work that Arran Folk Festival has done since its creation in 1990, we aim to widen our scope and include all genres of music.’
The website also has an on-line ticket selling facility and it is intended to make that available to any group holding events/concerts/functions so that tickets may be sold through the website on their behalf, thereby securing advance ticket sales. This will benefit all local groups by maximising their publicity without having to resort to expensive advertising costs in the local press. In addition, it would be hoped that these organisations would benefit from increased ticket sales through the additional outlet of the website and increase target audiences.
Throughout the year Arran Events intends to stage various concerts/events held in the various village halls throughout the Isle of Arran, using local performers and inviting notable performers from further afield to the island. The new company also intends to work with local community organisations such as the cricket club, the rugby club, motocross, COAST etc in any helpful way it can. A mutually beneficial trade-off is hoped for. If co-operating organisations can supply people to help out at the various concerts promoted by Arran Events (i.e. taking payment on entry, stewarding, helping with refreshments etc), Arran Events will give a share of the profits from that evening to the organisation that gave assistance. Realistically, they point out that the benefit to Arran Events is that they are not limited to asking the same people time and again to give their time for nothing, which understandably leads to ‘volunteer apathy’. If the company makes any surplus profits, the money will be used to maintain the existing website and maintain/upgrade the PA sound system. In addition, any surplus will be divided amongst the various groups and organisations that have worked with it throughout the year.
The first two events promoted by the new company at its launch on Easter Weekend will feature an emerging Edinburgh based rock band called Broken Records, playing on Easter Saturday, 23rd April, just after their return from a second USA tour. Their talented drummer is none other than Arran’s own Andy Keeney, so their gig on the island is a very fitting one. By complete contrast, on Easter Sunday, 24th April, there is a rare appearance from Mochara, featuring traditional Irish music with Maurice Dickson and Catherine Ashcroft. These two have achieved international aclaim in the traditional folk music circuit, so the coming Easter weekend is definitely not to be missed.
Visit: www.arranevents.com for more information.
