IT’S THE VENTILATION that love built.
A gig on Saturday night has been hailed as “fabulous”, and it also had a heart as it helped a Reading-based arts centre hit its fundraising target.
The Big Vent Event at South Street arts centre saw four bands perform to a capacity crowd. But the event wasn’t in aid of that arts centre, but its near neighbour just up the road, the Rising Sun.
It was organised by members of Dolly and the Clothespegs, one of the bands performing. Joining them were Captain Batgirl, The Pink Diamond Revue, Daughter of the Water, Damien A Passmore, and The Mark II.
They performed on the main stage and the studio stage, making it feel like a mini-festival.
Larry Watson, manager of the Rising Sun, was thrilled that the event helped it complete its goal of raising enough money to pay for a special ventilation system designed to filter air particles so it can be a covid-safe venue.
“The Big Vent Event went really well,” Larry said. “The event itself was fabulous. The bands that were playing were amazing. The atmosphere was amazing. It was a really nice event and everybody seemed really happy – there was a lovely feeling about the place.”
The event raised more than the £1,000 Larry needed to complete his target, so the excess – thought to be around £600 – will go to the Berkshire Cancer Centre.
And the ventilation is already in place meaning it won’t be too long before the Rising Sun rises again.
“We got to a point where we judged that the appeal was going to get there, one way or another,” Larry says. “We felt we could spend the money on installing it because we were going to raise it.
“We’re obviously really grateful to South Street for hosting it, and for Dolly and the Clothespegs for doing all the work to organise it.”
With so many people turning out for a great night of music, Larry was thrilled to see the vote of confidence for the Rising Sun, which supports local artists, musicians and the community as a whole. Regular events include a poetry night, music nights, dance lessons and open mic sessions.
“Something that came out from the event was a kind of feeling that people were there for us. Some of the musicians on stage even said that was why there were there, and we were important to them,” Larry says. “That was great to hear, from our point of view, and really nice.”
Of course, now that the current Plan B restrictions are phasing out, eyes are optimistically on what’s around the future. And with the ventilation in place that means events can start to return again.
“We are now working towards gradually getting our programme back up to full speed,” Larry says. “We’re looking at recruiting and training new volunteers, because we come out of lockdown with slightly less volunteers than when we went in.
“We’re really just looking at our capacity as a result. Otherwise, we’re set to go.
“We’ll do it slowly, we’ll come out of lockdown steadily. We’re on track and we’re getting there.
“We’re doing some great events, and there’s some stuff in the programme – it’s looking good.”
To see what’s coming up, log on to www.risingsunartscentre.org
