Crowdfunding project to help save parade.
The planning for the annual Birmingham St Patrick’s Day Festival and Parade is well underway, despite the recent announcements from Birmingham City Council of mass job and funding cuts to public events across the city.
Organisers are pleased to confirm this year’s parade will take place and the nominated theme will be the Irish Contribution to Birmingham, tracking the story of the Irish in Birmingham. As is tradition, the parade will run throughout the spiritual home of the Irish in Birmingham, Digbeth on March 15th.
Birmingham City Council’s recommendations to cut funding to community events will be affective as of April 2015, allowing Birmingham St Patrick’s Day Parade to receive a final year of support from the city council.
However the future of the parade looks uncertain, as such the organising team responsible for Birmingham St Patrick’s Day Parade have launched a crowd funding campaign with “ The Show Must Go On #SaveStPats ” via INDIEGOGO (www.savestpats.co.uk).
The city’s iconic parade costs over £70,000, Birmingham City Council’s funding contribution last year stood at £20,000.
The dramatic cuts will result in the organising committee having to find funding for the essential services needed to meet health and safety requirements such as road closures, barriers on the parade route, street cleaning, toilets, bins, first aid provisions and security.
Anne Tighe, Chair of The Birmingham St Patrick’s Festival Committee, explains; “This is a devastating blow for community events like ours and we’re deeply saddened about the impact that this could have on the community. What’s important to remember is the event is not organised by the council, it’s organised by volunteers in the Birmingham Irish community.
“We are thrilled to have been able to offer a celebration of Irish heritage and culture each year with the Birmingham St Patrick’s Day Parade and we hope to continue to do so. The parade means so much to so many which is why we recalling on our supporters to help in anyway they can to keep the parade alive.”
Celebrating St Patrick’s Day is a long standing tradition in Birmingham, and the parade is now recognised as the second largest in the world, with the last year’s event welcoming over 90,000 people to the city.
Anyone wishing to support the St Patrick’s Day Parade can do so by the following methods.
To donate to the Birmingham St Patrick’s Day Parade crowd fund please visit www.savestpats.co.uk. Donate whatever you can manage, or there are a variety of perks available in exchange for donating selected amounts, with wristbands, mentions on the website, parade route banners and much more on offer. Share the page with friends and family using the sharing tools, to ensure the campaign is seen by many.
There are several official collection tins in pubs around Digbeth, a full list can be found on the Birmingham St Patrick’s website www.stpatricksbirmingham.com
There are also voluntary positions to help out on the big day, from Float Section Stewards to Decoration volunteers and children’s area assistants, it all helps one of the worlds greatest parades take place.
For more information please visit http://stpatricksbirmingham.com to download a copy of the registration forms.