menu
Fundraising News

More than £7,000 raised for Burning the Clocks

Gary Hart January 13, 2016

Burning the Clocks organisers announce that over £7,000 was raised to stage the annual lantern parade in 2015.

Burning the Clocks Parade 2015: Photograph by Simon Dack
Burning the Clocks Parade 2015: Photograph by Simon Dack

Burning the Clocks first began in 1993 as an uplifting antidote to the excesses of a commercial Christmas. People bring the paper and willow lanterns that they’ve made to parade through the city before passing them into a huge bonfire on Brighton beach. Each lantern maker becomes a part of the show as they invest the lanterns with their wishes, hopes, and fears and then pass them into the fire.

Collections on the night raised a total of £3,534.86 for the event produced by arts charity Same Sky and a further £4,030 was raised through a crowdfunding campaign.

John Varah, Same Sky, artistic director said: “We want to thank everyone who came along to Burning the Clocks. We had an incredible turn out on the night of people in the parade and spectators along the route – and the rain stayed away during the parade and the fireworks.  

“We especially want to thank the kind people who donated on the night, our wonderful volunteer bucket collectors and the 93 supporters who donated online to our crowdfunding initiative. We simply couldn’t make it happen without them.”

Photograph by Simon Dack
Photograph by Simon Dack

Celebrations were as impressive as ever, with the procession attracting around 20,000 onlookers.

For the first time, event organisers also welcomed 35 VIP guests, including the Mayor, Lynda Hyde, who led the 2,000 strong parade from Brighton’s Dome to the seafront.

Additional events in the run up to Burning the Clocks in 2015 included a special lantern-making workshop for children on December 20 at the Phoenix Gallery and a lantern-making workshop at Patterns – part of their monthly craft afternoon, Monthly Milk.

For the latest information and opportunities to help with Burning the Clocks 2016, click here:

To help fundraiser for the event, click here:

 

X