FUNDRAISING UPDATES

Recently voted by our visitors as their favourite sculpture at Thorpe Meadows, Peterborough Arch, by artist Lee Grandjean, can normally be seen alongside Longthorpe Parkway. Back in October the sculpture was temporarily removed from the Park and is awaiting repairs by specialist conservators. We are currently busy fundraising to make sure this important largescale artwork can be returned the Park. We have successfully secured our first small grant from Henry Moore Foundation, but still have a lot of work to do to reach our funding target of £50,000, to ensure this iconic sculpture can be restored.

If you would like to make a donation towards saving Peterborough Arch or would like to support our fundraising activities, please email fundraising@neneparktrust.org.uk or look out for our appeal on our website. You can find out more information about Thorpe Meadows Sculpture Trail and Peterborough Sculpture Collection on our website: www.nenepark.org.uk/sculptures

You can see more of Lee Grandjean’s work in a new exhibition ‘Seeing Things’ at The Gibberd Gallery, Harlow from 8 April , and in a group exhibition at APT Gallery, Deptford, London in June.

We are excited to announce Nene Park Trust as a charity partner for the Great Eastern Run!

We are so pleased to be part of this fantastic local event and would like to offer places to anyone who would like to take part in the run and raise money for Nene Park Trust. Why not take on an inspiring personal challenge, whilst also raising money for your local park, helping to make sure it is looked after for everyone to enjoy forever.

If you would like to take part, please email the fundraising team: fundraising@neneparktrust.org.uk

After the success of the first ever Peterborough Celebrates Festival at Ferry Meadows last year, we’re really pleased that the exciting three-day community festival will be back again in May this year.

The festival will run over the weekend of the 19th-21st May at Ferry Meadows and will celebrate everything that makes Peterborough great – our culture, our diversity, our talented communitiesand will also champion the natural world and bring the city together.

From grassroots community, music, food and drink, performances, theatre, crafts, arts and culture, poetry and literature, health and wellbeing and sports, there will be a packed, eclectic, and diverse schedule of activities and entertainment across the weekend at Ferry Meadows. It will be a real community festival, with something for everyone and the chance to enjoy a wide range of different experiences.

The three-day event will kick off with a schools showcase on the Friday afternoon, where around 60 children from schools across Peterborough will come together for singing workshops. This will culminate in a performance for family and friends 4-5pm. It will be a fabulous start to the weekend and we’re looking forward to a joyful noise! The schools performance will be followed by a public launch to the festival and then a very exciting interactive singalong cinema experience in the big top. More details will be announced about that soon.

The city will come to Ferry Meadows on the Saturday, with the festival site alive with music, activities for all to get involved in, performances, and many surprising spectacles to discover and enjoy. We have a number of exciting acts confirmed already such as the acclaimed Motionhouse dance-circus group performing their show ‘Wild’ on Coney Meadow on a purpose built stage with dizzying scaffolding stunts.

We would love to hear from:

Autin Dance are bringing their giant puppet for a walkabout performance through the festival and Eastern Angles and Lamphouse Theatre companies are performing their shows in our dedicated Theatre tent. Of course this is just a flavour of what will be on offer. There will also be music and plenty of local bands and community groups performing too. The Sunday will have a family-focused feel with more entertainment and activities and we’re planning a mass participation moment that everyone can get involved in led by Punjabi Roots a fabulous drumming group!

 Corporate groups who can sponsor an element of the festival. If you are part of a company who would like to support Peterborough Celebrates, making it even bigger and better than last year, whilst also showcasing your brand and building your reputation and awareness across the city, we would love to have you as a sponsor for this event. There are limited opportunities available so please get in touch with Lucy at fundraising@neneparktrust.org.uk

 People or groups who would like to be our Festival Maker volunteers

 Performers or organisations who have an activity to offer Go to www.peterboroughcelebratesfestival.co.uk to find out more and get in touch.