Photo Miranda Gavin

Hastings Fringe supports two local charities with special evening performances

Hastings Fringe Festival announces two fundraising evenings of performance to raise awareness of The Sara Lee Trust (Thursday 14 September at The Albion), and The Penny Beale Memorial Fund (Sunday 24 September at The Beacon) as part of its events taking place throughout September. Miranda Gavin writes.

Performances start at 7pm and include comedy, music, spoken word, poetry and dance. These are pay-what-you-can events and there will be donation boxes available.

“Both of these charities are close to my heart as I have personally been affected by cancer and domestic abuse,” artistic director of Hastings Fringe, Heather Alexander, told HOT. “I understand how isolating and traumatic this can be, for both the victim and the families—often no one knows what is going on, and the person affected feels unable to express such raw emotions.

“We established links with the Penny Beale Memorial Fund last year when we ran creative therapy workshops for women who have experienced domestic violence, and wanted to help raise money to ensure that this important work continues.

“These local charities provide vital support and education for all those involved, including the wider community. The response from performers wanting to be part of these two charity fundraising events as well as the backing of the two venues has been incredible.”

The Sara Lee Trust is an independent local charity providing complementary therapies, counselling and creative therapies to people in Hastings and Rother living through cancer and other serious illness, with support for their families and carers. The Trust is also the dedicated provider of end-of-life counselling and complementary therapy services to patients of St Michael’s Hospice in St Leonards-on-Sea and the Rye, Winchelsea and District Memorial Hospital.

The Penny Beale Memorial Fund aims to raise awareness of issues surrounding domestic abuse, particularly the nature of coercive control, which is now a criminal offence, and which often escalates into violence. The Memorial Fund publishes materials to support this, and offers courses promoting these matters to schools, involving both boys and girls, and other organisations.

Hastings Fringe Charity Evening for The Sara Lee Trust at The Albion
Thursday 14 September. 7pm-10.15pm. Music, comedy, poetry, spoken word and dance, featuring Candy Forsure (compere), Dan Palmer, Ross Andrews-Clifford, Nick Eisen, Sheiks Delight Belly Dancing, Acapella Bellas, Keith Foster, Dan Evans and Matt Broadbent.

Hastings Fringe Charity Evening for The Penny Beale Memorial Fund
Sunday 24 September at The Beacon. 7pm-10.15pm. Music, comedy, poetry and spoken word, featuring Carol Prior (compere), Chris Fraser, Carmina Masoliver, Miranda Gavin, Las Pasionarias, JC McFee, Lisa Harmer-Pope, Mellow Baku and Alice Denny.

For more details and a complete programme of festival events, look out for the Hastings Fringe 17 brochures available in participating venues and other local outlets, or visit the Events section of the Hastings Fringe website.

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