Peace in the Park: Co-ordinator puts out rallying call for donations as Sheffield festival faces cancellation

Volunteers for the annual not-for-profit festival, which takes place at Ponderosa Park on the second Saturday in June, have not had the opportunity to hold as many fundraisers as normal due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Peace in the Park was not able to go ahead in 2020 because the country was in lockdown, and it was also cancelled last year due to coronavirus restrictions which limited fundraising events.

This year, fundraising has also been hampered by Covid-19 restrictions, but co-ordinator Roxie Rhodes says they are now just £1,200 from raising the £10,000 they need to put the festival on, and is calling on members of the public to donate if they can.

“If anybody likes the festival and wants to attend we would encourage them to make a donation,” said Roxie.

“If everybody who came put a pound or two into a pot on the day it would fund itself but we want to keep it free and accessible.

“We want this year’s festival to be a celebration of getting people back together again.”

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The community-based festival’s steering committee is set to meet tonight (Wednesday, April 6) and have to make a decision about whether the event can go ahead, because they need to start making deposits.

Generous donations from supporters of the festival and fundraisers such as Peace in the Dub Shack at Sidney and Matilda has resulted in their budget shortfall decreasing from £5,000 to £1,200 over the last three weeks.

“I want to say thank you to everyone who has donated and got in touch, it’s been really nice to see how much the festival means to people,” added Roxie.

Peace in the Park started in 2003 in protest to the Iraq war, and is an event which brings together Sheffield musicians, creatives and businesses as a much-loved hub for families and communities.

Roxie says the festival, which will be held on June 11 if it goes ahead, remains an anti-war event and fundraising will takes place for the dispossessed Ukranians who have been forced to flee their homes due to the Russian invasion.

Anyone wishing to donate can do so by visiting the festival’s Local Giving site at: https://localgiving.org/charity/peaceinthepark/ or by making a contribution via their PayPal using the email address: [email protected]