Over the weekend, TYS Retail and Nisa’ Making a Difference Locally charity (MADL) teamed up to sponsor a stage at St Neots Festival.
The Nisa ‘Heart of the Community’ stage, located in the heart of the festival grounds, saw two days of entertainment celebrating performing arts and music in Cambridgeshire.
Leon Swanwick manager of TYS Retail attended the festival’s debut last year and felt compelled to support the community fun for its second year.
“This year was even better. It’s a really enjoyable festival. The atmosphere is very relaxed, and it’s all local, so it’s all very good. I have friends that have vendors there, and they sell some of their handmade gifts. So, I thought it was a great opportunity to support the local community.
“I reached out via email and expressed my interest in getting involved in the festival. The gentleman who is now actually the local mayor and one of the main organisers of the festival came into the store and saw me the next day to have a chat. I liked the idea of sponsoring something so he sent me a list of the values and all the different areas. I just thought it would be nice to have a stage with Nisa on it,” he told Convenience Store.
As it is a free festival, sponsorships are key to the success of the annual community event.
As part of the sponsorship, Leon received several guest wristbands that provided access to a special VIP area, a complimentary drink and upgraded toilets.
If sponsoring the community event wasn’t enough, he also held a raffle at one of his stores to raise funds for kits for St Neots Rugby Club by giving away four of the guest wristbands.
St Neots mayor and co-founder of Neotists (the organisation behind the festival) Richard Slade explained to Convenience Store that the sponsorship from TYS Retail and Nisa enabled Neotists to host a variety of music, dance and entertainment at St Neots Festival 2024: ”Our plan was to provide four stages across the site with a range of genres for the public to enjoy. Without the generous donation we wouldn’t have been able to rent the stage, sound equipment and pay for acts for our 12,500 visitors across the weekend to enjoy”.
Leon emphasised the importance of retailers engaging with their community: “Especially now, with everyone struggling and social behaviours becoming more prominent, we can help by supporting food banks, community groups, mental health groups and getting involved in various activities in the community.
”Yes, we’re here to make money, but we’re here to be part of the community and engage with everyone needing support in anyway we can.”
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