WITH only 100 days to go until this year’s Warrington Festival, the event’s organisers are gearing up for another jam-packed programme of activities.
Warrington Festival 2016 will take place across the town between 16 September and 2 October and will have a Rio theme, in line with the 2016 Olympics which is being held in the colourful Brazilian city.
This year’s festival will once again host a headline music event and the English Half Marathon and 10K race and will this year bring a whole host of new events to the town including an adventure film festival and a charity football contest.
The festival will kick off on Friday 16 September with the Braziliant Paralympic sports festival and submissions are now being sought from local schools who would like to take part in the event.
Cllr Terry O’Neill, leader of Warrington Borough Council, said: “It’s fantastic that Warrington Festival is back for a second year.
“Last year’s festival really brought the whole community together and I hope that everyone gets behind this year’s event and enjoys the range of activities on offer.”
The non-for-profit festival was first held in 2015 and in its first year it engaged with more than 30,000 people across 50 events and increased footfall within the town centre. It also supported 52 volunteers to boost their CVs and brought £172,000 into the local economy.
It was developed by partners who wanted to reignite the community spirit created during the Rugby League World Cup.
Back in 2013 Warrington was the host town for the Samoan team which brought more than £1 million into the town’s economy and received fantastic feedback from the Rugby Football League who said Warrington’s activity offer changed the whole tournament.
To mark 100 days to go until the festival the organisers are also launching a crowdfunding campaign to enable local people and businesses to play their part in developing a platform for sports, cultural and entertainment events in their town.
The campaign will support the major partners involved in the festival including, LiveWire, Culture Warrington and Contest Sports to raise funds to provide free events which can be enjoyed by local residents in Warrington and will help put the town on the map.
Emma Hutchinson, chair of the Warrington Festival steering group, said: “This year we want the festival to be bigger and better than ever and we need the help of local people to bring a range of exciting events to the town to give Warrington residents the chance to discover new interests, develop new skills and most importantly – have fun.”
“The festival is entirely inclusive and offers something for everyone whether they want to take part in an event, organise at an event or even volunteer at an event.”
If you’d like to help develop Warrington Festival and provide more opportunities for people in Warrington to enjoy the type of events the festival provides, please visit https://www.generosity.com/community-fundraising/warrington-festival-2016/x/14324465
