More than 50 grant applications have received funding as part of the Newport Festival and more than 10,000 people have enjoyed the various events and activities.
At the start of 2010, Newport City Council launched the Newport Festival, a series of events to get people feeling good about the city. A key part of the Festival was to involve local communities and community groups were encouraged to apply for funding from the Newport Festival to hold their own events, projects and activities.
Leader of Newport City Council, Cllr Matthew Evans, said: “2010 has been a memorable year for residents of Newport. We have had the SuperDragons project, spectacular city centre events with the Big Splash and Fire Finale and also the smaller community focused events.
“We wanted people to participate in the Festival and always stressed The Ryder Cup was as much about community engagement as the tournament itself and through the various events and projects we have achieved this.”
A key part of the Newport Festival was to include everyone in the city in the celebrations through a programme of events and activities. At the start of 2010 a special pot of money totalling £125,000 was set aside for people to apply for funding to host events, run projects or put on activities.
A People’s Panel comprising of residents from across the city meet once a month and have made a huge contribution to ensuring 2010 events have been a success. The People’s Panel grants sub group are responsible for shaping the community events by approving which applications should receive funding.
More than £85,000 of funding has been handed out and more than 10,000 people have attended the events funded by the grant scheme with more than 900 volunteers taking part. Projects that have received funding include a celebration of International Women’s Day, Music in the Park, summer treasure hunts, a five-a-side football tournament, carnivals and parades.
Twenty of the projects that have received funding have been activities to revitalise community participation, 28 have improved community relations and 8 have had an environmental improvement in their area.
Community grants are still available and applications will be accepted until the end of January 2011. Funding for a range of events can be applied for including arts, concerts, exhibitions and volunteering projects.
