£11k funding boost for festivals and events taking place in Morecambe in 2024

Bare Community Association has been awarded £2,500 by Morecambe Town Council to support the production of three events in the village throughout the year.

The first of these, BareFest, takes place this weekend (June 8) featuring a parade, music, stalls, competitions and various entertainments, with Bare Remembers to follow on November 10 and Christmas on the Crescent on November 30.

“This grant enables us to host events in Bare Village and to continue the historical tradition, started in 1910, of the Bare Village Pageant and inauguration of a Lord Mayor of Bare,” said Marisa Seddon, Chair of Bare Community Association.

A further £2,500 goes to Northern Silents to help bring Silents by the Sea – a new festival celebrating classic cinema with live music – to the Winter Gardens this weekend (June 8-9).

Audiences will be treated to iconic films from the earliest years of cinema including Charlie Chaplin's The Kid, the original 1925 dinosaur adventure The Lost World, and Georges Méliès' fantastical 1902 film A Trip to the Moon, all supported by live musical accompaniment.

"It's set to be an incredible two days of live music and big-screen cinema entertainment in the stunning surroundings of Morecambe’s magnificent Winter Gardens,” said Jonny Best, artistic director of Northern Silents.

"This support allows us to offer free tickets for under 18s, making classic silent films with live music accessible to a new generation, and adding to the town's growing cultural community.”

Morecambe Artist Colony have been awarded £2,995 in support of Morecambe People's Biennial (July 6-7), an event celebrating the work and contribution to the community of Morecambe-based creatives, from artists and photographers to dancers and musicians.

Local artist and the organiser of Morecambe People's Biennial, Anthony Padgett, said: “We are grateful to Morecambe Town Council for this show of appreciation for all the great work local creative people do to help make Morecambe a better place to live in, and for the mental and physical health benefits they bring to our communities.”

Finally, the West End Players get £3,000 to support their activities over the coming year. Their plans include mummers' play Moby Dick, to be performed on the Promenade throughout the summer and as part of the new Morecambe Maritime Festival on August 24, and two new shows for pantomime season – Die Hard the Musical (reimagined in Morecambe with the Polo Tower taking the place of Nakatomi Plaza) and Peter Pan.

Morecambe Fringe Festival will also return from July 5-28 bringing comedy, theatre, spoken word, cabaret and other entertainments to venues and stages around Morecambe's West End. Plus there’s an ongoing programme of comedy, poetry and variety nights at the West End Playhouse.