The organisers of the 50th anniversary charity bonfire and fireworks on the Stray have appealed for more donations to ensure a successful event in nine days time.
An online gofundme page set up by Harrogate and District Round Table has so far attracted £1,220 in donations towards a goal of £8,000 with just over a week to go until the event on Saturday, November 6.
There will be a bucket fundraising collection on the night and people will be encouraged to text to donate £5. But with the current total being so short of the goal, the organisers have appealed for a flurry of online donations over the next week.
The event is organised by volunteers, who try to keep costs low but they have to spend money on fireworks, transportation of pallets and road traffic management.
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The £8,000 figure is how much the event costs to put on, and the Round Table always donates any profits to charity. This year’s charity is the Friends of Harrogate Hospital.
John Carter, who is in charge of organising the bonfire for the Round Table this year, told the Stray Ferret:
Fundraising appeal for 50th Stray bonfire“We are going to put on a big bonfire and fireworks display. We hope people will enjoy the event after a pretty miserable 18 months.
“There is the online fundraiser but we will have lots of bucket shaking on the night as well as the text to donate. It is the first time we have done the online fundraiser.
“Over the years the amount we have raised on the night has dwindled as people don’t tend to carry cash so we are encouraging donations in other ways.”
Organisers behind the Bonfire and Fireworks on the Stray have appealed for fundraising help to put on the 50th anniversary event this year.
The Harrogate District Round Table, which was forced to cancel the display last year due to coronavirus restrictions, is hoping to raise £10,000.
Rather than relying solely on bucket shaking on Saturday, November 6, the organisers have set up a gofundme page for the event.
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Volunteers for the group try to keep costs low but they have to spend money on fireworks, transportation of pallets and road traffic management.
If the event does not go ahead or raises more money than needed then the Round Table will donate that money to a local charity.
This year the group has chosen to support the Friends of Harrogate Hospital, which raises money to benefit patients at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust.
The bonfire display is quite eyecatching.
John Carter, who is in charge of organising the bonfire for Harrogate District Round Table this year, told the Stray Ferret:
“We are hopeful that we will get the green light from Harrogate Borough Council in early October.
“Last year was going to be our 50th anniversary bonfire so it was disappointing to have to cancel it, but we did understand why it could not go ahead.
“We are in a very different position compared to last year with the vaccination programme, but we will still encourage people to keep a safe distance.
“After the past 18 months we hope that the Harrogate public will be keen to support the event on our local charity.”
The Round Table is also on the lookout for new members. The group is for young men to make friends and help the local community. Interested? Click here.