Avonfest: 30th July 2022
We ran a stall at this fun community event, hosted by the neighbours of Grace Eyre Head Office. It was a brilliant day at a traditional-style summer fete, with live music, food, go-karts, games, and opportunities to meet new people.
We ran two competitions – guess the weight of the cake and guess the number of sweets in the jar – as well as selling refreshments. Together with our neighbours we raised over £500.
Brighton Pride: 6th August 2022
We co-hosted a pre-Pride Party with Heartventure and Unity Club Night on Brighton seafront on 3rd August, featuring performances from DJs, bands, and solo artists.
We then took part in this year’s Pride Community Parade on 6th August, alongside Heartventure and Unity Club Night. Stagecoach kindly provided an open-top vintage bus and drivers, which we decorated, including our eye-catching slogan Equal, Able, Sexual.
Both events caught the attention of both the public and the media – it was a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness of our work and support adults with a learning disability and autism from the LGBTQ+ community.
Brunswick Festival: 20th August 2022
We attended the Brunswick Festival, a family-friendly festival event on Brunswick Square, featuring free music and entertainment. Our stand promoted the excellent work Grace Eyre does and sold artwork and other items from the Grace Eyre Art Studio and Brighton Open Market. We talked to lots of people who wanted to learn more about Grace Eyre, including Peter Kyle MP and Deputy Mayor of Brighton & Hove Councillor Jackie O’Quinn.
London to Brighton Cycle Ride: 11th September 2022
On 11th September, over 4,000 riders took part in the London to Brighton Cycle Ride, a 55-mile ride starting at Clapham Common in London and ending on Madeira Drive in Brighton. Seven superheroes took part in this year’s ride to raise money for Grace Eyre. We received them at our Grace Eyre stand where passersby could also find out more about our work.
Our seven fantastic riders collectively raised £2,402, all of which will go towards the Big Build project.
On Nature: 9th September – 1st October 2022
Following a private view on 9th September, the ‘On Nature’ exhibition was running at Grace Eyre’s Open Market Art Studio, with the last day on 1st October. It featured fantastic art and poetry inspired by the natural world and created by members of the Grace Eyre Artist Collective.
Thank you
We want to say a big thank you to everyone who was involved and took part, and also to our amazing volunteers who gave up their valuable time to support us and without whom we would be unable to manage all our events.
We always welcome more volunteers however and are currently looking at how we can recruit and train more people who can help us in a variety of ways and creating new toolkits to support them. If you are interested, please get in touch with humanresources@grace-eyre.org