In the October of 2008, during one late afternoon at Peasedown Youth Centre, the first ever Party in the Park meeting was held, and seven years on the team are celebrating raising almost £60,000 for the village.
Those present at the first meeting included representatives from groups that had hosted events before, and a collection of brand new people who wanted to get ‘stuck in’.
From the early beginnings of pulling together ideas on a large sheet of flip chart paper the Peasedown Party in the Park brand was born.
The first event, pitched as a grand family fun day, was opened in 2009 by Glastonbury Festival founder Michael Eavis and held in the new location of Beacon Field.
With a small stage for musical performances and around 1,500 people attending, this was a great start to a string of successful festivals.
Now, seven years on, Peasedown’s Party in the Park festival has become one of the most popular in the district, with up to 3,000 visitors and more than £6,000 being secured each year to fund the event.
Last week, a special volunteer breakfast event was hosted by Party in the Park in partnership with Peasedown Residents’ Association.
During the morning organisers revealed the total amount raised from 7 festivals and 5 Christmas in the Park events through sponsorship, stall holder fees and entrance gate donations.
Treasurer Joy Fraser said: “When I added it all up I was surprised at how much money has been raised over the eight events we have held.
“Much of the money has been re-invested into Party in the Park each year but some has also gone to help projects in the village and it is good to be able to do that.”
When all the figures had been added up, the team revealed that a massive £59,150.81 has been raised. An achievement never seen before by a community group in Peasedown St John in the same amount of time.
As well as events, the team run a volunteer scheme which gives those that take part the chance to receive a reference for education or employment; a Grant Fund which supports Peasedown-based projects; a community award in memory of the late Sara Holley; and they have launched their own exclusive cider – Peasedown Diamond.
Festival Chairman Nathan Hartley believes none of these could have been achieved without the support of faithful volunteers who give up their time each year.
He said: “My thanks go to the current team, who all bring a wealth of knowledge, expertise and passion to the roles they perform; Joy Fraser, Karen Walker, Jo Davis, Mike Auton, Craig Gill, Jeannie Heath, Andrea Feeney and Tom Benyon.
“We couldn’t do what we do though without the 30-40 people who commit time and energy at the festival to give out programmes, collect litter and help set up and pack away at the end of the day.”
The Party in the Park volunteer scheme, Be Part of It, gives volunteers the chance to sign up and in return receive a certificate, gift, vouchers and an invitation to a thank you event.
For more details about Party in the Park or any of their associated initiatives visit www.peasedownpartyinthepark.org.uk. Organisers will announce the date of the 2016 festival in the New Year.