Kilrea Community and Fairy Thorn Association announce £3K of funding for locality

By Una Culkin
Published 14th Jun 2023, 09:58 BST
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Following the resounding success of Kilrea’s Fairy Thorn Festival last year, the organisers are now calling for people living in the locality to help them give back to worthy projects or ideas which need funding.

Using the Participatory Budget (PB) process, the Kilrea Community & Fairy Thorn Association is inviting anyone from the town and immediate locale to an information evening tomorrow (Thursday 15 June) in Kilrea Town Hall.

The sum of £3,000 is being made available using this democratic process where people can bid for some, or all, of the funding - with local people voting for those projects which they would like to see happen.

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Tomorrow’s event is the first step in raising awareness about the money available, and encouraging individuals or groups who have ideas which would benefit everyone if they got the financial start required, to get them up and running. Additional workshops will take place over the summer, with voting scheduled for the autumn months when the successful bids will also be announced.

Following the resounding success of Kilrea’s Fairy Thorn Festival last year – 30 years after it first took place – this summer sees the organisers calling for people living in the local community to help them give back to worthy projects or ideas which need funding.Following the resounding success of Kilrea’s Fairy Thorn Festival last year – 30 years after it first took place – this summer sees the organisers calling for people living in the local community to help them give back to worthy projects or ideas which need funding.
Following the resounding success of Kilrea’s Fairy Thorn Festival last year – 30 years after it first took place – this summer sees the organisers calling for people living in the local community to help them give back to worthy projects or ideas which need funding.

Andrew Hickey, Chairperson of the Kilrea Community & Fairy Thorn Association, said: “We were delighted at how well supported and attended the Fairy Thorn Festival was in 2022, and while many people would like to see it take place annually, our plan from the outset has been to run it every other year and to focus on community projects in the interim year.

“We would love to see a good turnout at the launch of our PB scheme and we hope that the people of Kilrea will get as involved as people have done in neighbouring towns and villages over the last few years in this democratic process, which lets those who will benefit have their say.

“And while we are not running a full festival this year, I can say at this point that we are planning some events for Saturday, August 19 so watch this space and keep the date in your diaries everyone.”

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The PB event will be led by Karin Eyben who has been involved in successfully running similar schemes in the Causeway Coast & Glens area, supported by committee members. Everyone is welcome to attend whether they have a project or idea they’d like to see happen, or simply to find out more about PB and what it means.