Festivals and events in Morecambe have received a combined £11,000 boost.
Events in Bare village, the Silents by the Sea festival celebrating classic cinema with live music, the Morecambe People's Biennial and events by the West End Players have all been awarded grants by Morecambe Town Council.
Bare Community Association was awarded £2,500 to support the production of three events in the village of Bare throughout the year. The first of these, Barefest, took place on June 8 with Bare Remembers (November 10) and Christmas on the Crescent (November 30) to follow later in the year.
Marisa Seddon, chair of Bare Community Association, said: "On behalf of the Bare Community Association, residents and businesses of Bare, I would like to thank Morecambe Town Council for their support.
"This grant enables us to host events in Bare Village and to continue the historical tradition, started in 1910, of the Bare Village Pageant and Inauguration of a Lord Mayor of Bare."
This weekend's inauguration of the Lord Mayor of Bare, Chris Mount, pictured with Alan Dean, President of Bare Village Club
Northern Silents have been awarded £2,500 towards their Silents by the Sea event which took place at the Winter Gardens theatre over the weekend of June 8 and 9.
Jonny Best, artistic director of Northern Silents, said: "This support allows us to offer free tickets for under 18s, making classic silent films with live music accessible to a new generation, and adding to the town's growing cultural community."
Morecambe Artist Colony was awarded £2,995 in support of Morecambe People's Biennial, taking place on July 6 and 7.
This event will celebrate the work and contribution to the community of Morecambe-based creatives, from artists and photographers to dancers and musicians.
Artist Anthony Padgett, organiser of Morecambe People's Biennial, said: "There are so many brilliant creative people in the area and they receive no funding whilst people from outside the area are funded. We are grateful to Morecambe Town Council for this show of appreciation for all the great work local creative people do to help make Morecambe a better place to live in, and for the mental and physical health benefits they bring to our communities.'
Finally, the West End Players were awarded £3,000 to support their activities over the coming year.
Plans include mummers' play Moby Dick, to be performed on the Promenade throughout the summer and as part of the new Maritime Festival (August 24); two new shows for pantomime season - Die Hard the Musical (reimagined in Morecambe, with the Polo Tower taking the place of Nakatomi Plaza), and Peter Pan; the return of Morecambe Fringe Festival (July 5-28), which brings comedy, theatre, spoken word, cabaret and other entertainments to venues and stages around Morecambe's West End; and an ongoing programme of comedy, poetry, and variety nights at the West End Playhouse.
Morecambe Town Council raises money through a share of Council tax paid each year by Morecambe residents, and sets a festivals and events budget each year. Festivals and events organisers can apply for grants from this budget.
The 2024/25 budget shows a rise in money for local festivals to £120,000.
In May, it was announced that the town council had awarded the Vintage by the Sea festival in Morecambe a £16,000 grant.
Read more: Morecambe’s Vintage by the Sea festival awarded funding from Town Council - Beyond Radio
There was controversy in April when the council decided not to award an £11,500 grant to the Nice n Sleazy punk festival amid a row over the accounts, after previously conditionally agreeing to pay the grant.
Read more: Morecambe's longest-running music festival under threat in row over council grant - Beyond Radio
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