Thousands of music fans danced the night away at Jersey’s infamous charity fundraising festival Groove De Lecq, raising an incredible £30,000 for the British Heart Foundation’s life saving research.
The renowned family-friendly festival took place on Saturday 6th August and saw some 2,500 Islanders of all ages and musical tastes walk through the Groove Gates at Moulin De Lecq St Mary’s to enjoy a fantastic line-up of local musical talent, performing arts, children’s craft and dance activities and a new and improved site layout with new areas to discover offering a variety of fresh food and refreshments.
Musical entertainment for this year’s festival included a mix of Soul, Rhythm, Blues, Rock and original solo artists playing over four stages at the festival.
Since launching in 2011, this soulful little micro-festival has raised over £100,000 for local charities including Autism Jersey & Headway as well as inviting partner charities and volunteers to get involved on the day. This year, Groove joined the local fight against heart disease, with all funds raised through ticket sales going towards the British Heart Foundation Jersey Branch.
The BHF Jersey Branch were delighted to be involved with this year’s event, as local BHF Fundraising Manager Summer Parkin explained: “This is a fantastic event right at the heart of Jersey’s community. Groove has been our biggest local fundraising event this year by far and it’s been wonderful working with such a talented group of individuals who are just so willing to offer their time and skills for a great cause. Too many Islanders die prematurely due to heart and circulatory disease and £30,000 is an amazing accomplishment which will make a huge difference in our fight for every heartbeat.”
Heart and circulatory disease claims the lives of around 155,000 people in the Channel Islands and the UK each year. Every pound raised from Groove will help the BHF fulfil its ambition to fund half a billion pounds of life saving heart research over the next five years, and bringing us ever closer to beating heart disease.
As well as the British Heart Foundation, a number of other local charities took part in the day by providing fun and engaging activities for all the family to enjoy. These included dance lessons with the JSPCA, a Mad Hatters Tea Party with Jersey Mencap, Fancy Dress Yurt with C.I Pride a Happiness Terrace with Mind Jersey, A Children’s’ playground with Brighter Futures and beautiful bespoke furniture provided by Acorn.
For more information about the festival or work of the BHF, visit www.Groove.org.je or www.bhfjersey.com where you can read the blog.