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Parklife Festival

2005 - Parklife will be on hold, we are sad to say... ************** Parklife Festival MM2K are extremely disappointed that Medway Council have withdrawn funding for Parklife Festival as a result of budget cuts. These cuts have seriously affected arts services, in particular music, which contradicts Medway Council’s own programme of cultural development. Parklife Festival is an established and unique platform giving the local community the opportunity to experience the diversity of music within Medway, and gives local musicians the chance to perform to a large and varied audience alongside internationally established artists such as Medway’s own Billy Childish and James Taylor Quartet. MM2K are absolutely committed to the development of music in Medway and in supporting local musicians, we will explore all ways possible of continuing the Parklife festival. MM2K hope to continue a good working relationship with Medway Council and are assured of a meeting in April. In recent years MM2K have been working hard to secure private sponsorship for the event, and want to ensure that this latest setback will not again jeopardise these relationships. We do intend to have some sort of Parklife event this year with or without Medway Council's support, but it may be greatly scaled down and largely paid for from our own funds, which isn't a hugh amount. MM2K will continue to support music within Medway, but this is your music scene, Parklife is your festival, if you want music to grow and prosper here then it is up to you to act now. MM2K would encourage anyone who has an opinion on this matter to write or e-mail Wes Hollands Portfolio holder for leisure and culture and Rodney Chambers leader of Medway council and copy in the press as well. It may not change the decisions already taken this year, but it will show support for music in Medway and hopefully make Medway Council think about grass root support for music in the future. If people don't make a stand in the simplest of ways then there really isn't much hope, anybody can write a letter or e-mail. Here are the e-mail addresses for Wes Hollands, Portfolio Holder for Arts and Leisure, and Rodney Chambers, Leader of Medway Council. rodney.chambers@medway.gov.uk wes.hollands@medway.gov.uk E-mail addresses for all councillors can be found at www.medway.gov.uk You can write to Rodney Chambers and Wes Hollands at, Members Services, Medway Council, Civic centre, Strood, Kent, ME2 4AU Paul Clark MP for Gillingham at Paul Clark, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA or e-mail clarkp@parliament.uk Copy in the local press at lpatrick@thekmgroup.co.uk and newsdesk.medway@kentregionalnewspapers.co.uk In addition, if you would like to contact MM2K, please write to Medway Music 2000, PO Box 242, Gillingham, Kent, ME7 4BZ Or e-mail jayallen@medwaymusic.net Please feel free to forward this information to whoever may be interested, but please keep it clean, e-mails or letters which are insulting in anyway will do more harm than good. Many thanks Jay Allen, MM2K Promoters of Parklife festival Details and pictures of last years festival can be found at www.parklifefestival.org.uk