Charities Set To Benefit Posted on 5th June 20185th June 2018 by Gable Events Charities set to receive fundraising boost from the East Anglian Dragon Boat Festival this August The eagerly anticipated East Anglian Dragon Boat Festival is a great opportunity for local companies, organisations and clubs to get teams together and do battle on the waters of Oulton Broad, Lowestoft. Although there can only be one winner in the dragon boat races taking place on Saturday 11th August, a number of local and national charities will also be winners this year. New for 2018, the Dragon Boat Festival, sponsored by Warner Leisure Hotels and supported by Lowestoft Journal, is an open charity event with entrants invited to raise money for the charity of their choosing. Teams opting for the popular gold and silver entry packages, which include a charity donation as well as marketing benefits, can also nominate their favourite charity to benefit from their donations. Amongst the charities set to benefit from funds raised by the crews entered so far are Nelson’s Journey, QEH King’s Lynn Breast Care Unit, EACH Nook Appeal, The Big C, Princes Trust and Macmillan Cancer Support with many more great causes expected to be nominated before entries close on 1st August. ABP’s two teams will be made up of members of staff from the Ports of Lowestoft, Kings Lynn and Ipswich representing varied departments across the company. ABP has taken part in the past two Dragon Boat Festivals and crew captain, Lucia Firman comments, “The dragon boat race is a great way to get people from the various different ABP ports together, have fun and raise money for charity at the same time. ABP supports several charities around the UK and is active in participation in fundraising events. The dragon boat festival is a great opportunity to meet and catch up with people not seen in a normal working day and every year more people want to get involved”. The ‘Muskerteers’ team representing Musker McIntyre will be supporting local charity Nelson’s Journey. The local independent estate agent has a branch network of seven offices across Norfolk and Suffolk and the charity is close to the heart of Joanna McIntyre who set up the company 11 years ago, “This is an important local charity which over the past 20 years has helped thousands of local children following the death of an important person in their lives. We would like to try and raise £1,000 from our participation on the day”. Jarrolds Department Store, GCB Recruitment, Tippers ‘R’ Us, Grosvenor Casino, Lovewell Blake, Anglian Demolition and Warner Leisure’s Gunton Hall and Corton Coastal Resorts are all looking forward to a great day of team building as well as fundraising and there is plenty of time to join them on the start line this August. To take part in the dragon boat racing, no previous experience is required, just plenty of team spirit and enthusiasm! Under the expert guidance of a qualified helm provided by Festival organisers Gable Events, your crew of up to 11 people will soon be paddling in time and bonding together as you race towards the finish line over the 200m race course. Each team gets three attempts to improve their race times with everyone having an equal chance of reaching the semi-finals. Last year, three out of the five top-placed teams were first-time entrants into the Festival! Trophies and medals are awarded to the top three crews, top mixed crew, top fundraisers and the ‘best dressed’. For further information and an entry form please visit: www.dragonboatfestivals.co.uk/eastanglia or call Gable Events on 01780 470718. For information about Festival sponsor, Warner Leisure Hotels, visit www.warnerleisurehotels.co.uk or call 01442 863245. Warner Leisure is the proud sponsor of the 2018 East Anglian Dragon Boat Festival and they are working together with partner charity, Macmillan Cancer Support to fund a range of help and advice for people affected by cancer.
Teams race to sign up Posted on 1st June 2018 by Gable Events Teams race to sign up for the Nottingham Riverside Festival Dragon Boat Challenge! Companies, clubs and organisations from across the region are getting their teams together and signing up to take part in the eagerly anticipated Nottingham Riverside Festival Dragon Boat Challenge which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. The Dragon Boat Challenge takes place on the River Trent at the Victoria Embankment on Sunday 5th August in aid of Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People and is one of the key attractions of the Riverside Festival. One of the early entrants is builders merchants, John A Stephens Ltd from Nottingham, and crew manager Jason Shelton explains how the company hopes to benefit from their participation; “This will be our second year at the Riverside Festival Dragon Boat Challenge. Our first time at the event was a great success, both as a fun day out and team building exercise. Our team for race day will be made up of yard, office and counter staff for hopefully another fantastic day. We enter a silver team as the entry fee includes a £500 donation to a very worthwhile cause in Rainbows Hospice - we have a secondary sponsor (Clark-Drain Ltd) which looks after the clothing /logos etc and will also be donating towards the charity”. With teams coming from all over the East Midlands and representing so many different industries, the inter-company rivalry is building. Other early entrants include Gold entries from Nando’s, NMCNomenca and Office Innovations, silver entries from DeltaNet International and North Midland Construction plus standard entries from DHL Nottingham, DNS (Midlands) Ltd, Encore Estate Management, K-Flex, Rainbows Hospice, MQP and a further two crews from NMCNomenca. To take part in the dragon boat racing and help raise money for Rainbows, no previous experience is required, just plenty of team spirit and enthusiasm! The dragon boats, qualified helms and all racing equipment are provided and each crew is guaranteed a minimum of three races. Teams and spectators also benefit from being part of one of the region’s largest family festivals with a bustling fair and vibrant mix of music, dance, crafts and food from around the world, staged by Nottingham City Council. Media partners to the Dragon Boat Challenge are Notts TV and Business Link East Midlands. All the entered teams will be encouraged to raise sponsorship for the Challenge’s official charity, Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People, and help make a difference to over 380 children and their families that the charity supports across the East Midlands. Tom Stanyard, Corporate Partnership Fundraiser at Rainbows, said, “The Dragon Boat Challenge is an amazing event. With up to 50 companies competing for a number of prizes the day has a great atmosphere. More amazing than the event however is what Rainbows is able to do with the fundraising support we receive from the crews taking part. With only a small amount of guaranteed funding, your support at events like this makes it possible for us to help and care for those families who need it most.” The top fundraisers for Rainbows will win the charity trophy plus a special prize lunch kindly donated by Forty Four Bridgford, an independent cocktail bar and kitchen in Nottingham. For more information and an entry form please call Gable Events on 01780 470718 or visit www.dragonboatfestivals.co.uk/nottingham. For information about the services of Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People call Tom Stanyard on 01509 283919 or visit www.rainbows.co.uk
First teams to sign up Posted on 1st June 2018 by Gable Events First teams sign up for the Cambridge Dragon Boat Festival! Companies, clubs and organisations from across the region are getting their teams together and signing up to take part in this year’s eagerly anticipated Cambridge Dragon Boat Festival in aid of Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT). Now in its 14th year, the Festival has become one of the biggest corporate team events in the regional calendar and there’s plenty of time to get a team together and guarantee a place on the start line in Fen Ditton on Saturday 8th September. One of the early entrants are first-timers Grant Instruments from Shepreth in Cambridgeshire who have been designing and manufacturing innovative scientific and data acquisition tools to markets worldwide since 1951. By taking part, crew manager, Charlotte Houlihan is looking forward to strengthening internal company relationships and supporting a charity which is very close to their hearts, “Our company is made up of more than 60 energetic, passionate and technically-mind experts – all of whom are up for a challenge! Grant’s ‘Water Bath Warriors’ will be made up of willing volunteers from all departments within the business including Sales, Research & Development and Manufacturing, along with our very own Managing Director. Not only will this be a fun day out for all involved, it will act as an invaluable team building exercise and fundraising opportunity”. Charlotte adds, “We are holding a variety of events such as a Royal Wedding inspired Cake Sale, Quiz Night, Summer Garden Party, Raffle and will be heavily promoting our Just Giving page both on our website and on social media. We’ve got a great team at Grant, who not only keep the Grant cogs turning every day, but also go the extra mile to fundraise and volunteer their time to many charitable causes”. Other early Festival entrants include Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust, Ashtons Legal, CMR Surgical Ltd, Cooke Curtis & Co, Provisio, Sitec Infrastructure Services (two teams) and Thorlabs together with Gold and Silver teams from Cambridge Commodities, Cantab and RealVNC. Gold and Silver entries include a significant donation to Festival charity ACT as well as marketing benefits such as the company name and logo on the sides of a dragon boat. To take part in the dragon boat racing, no previous experience is required, just plenty of team spirit and enthusiasm! The dragon boats, qualified helms and all racing equipment are provided and each crew is guaranteed a minimum of three races. Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust is the only charity dedicated to making a difference for patients at Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie Hospitals and Emily Willdigg, ACT’s Events Fundraiser is looking forward to building on the success of last year’s event, “We hope that businesses will support our much-loved hospitals by getting a team together. With the help of many generous supporters, we can provide funds so that our local hospitals can offer the very best care day after day, year after year.” The Festival, supported by Cambridge Edition, promises a fantastic day for competitors and spectators alike with Chinese themed entertainment, children’s rides, inflatable activities and plenty of food and drink for all the family on the bankside. The team raising the most money for ACT will be awarded the charity trophy and enjoy a fabulous private group cookery evening event of sushi making at Cambridge Cookery, the award-winning cookery school and neighbourhood bistro and café. For further information and an entry form please call Gable Events on 01780 470718 or visit www.dragonboatfestivals.co.uk/cambridge. To find out more about the vital work of Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust please call Emily Willdigg, Events Fundraiser on 01223 349885 or visit www.act4addenbrookes.org.uk
Final chance to enter Posted on 1st June 2018 by Gable Events Last chance to make a splash at the Milton Keynes Dragon Boat Festival on Saturday 23rd June In a few weeks’ time, Willen Lake in Milton Keynes will reverberate to the sound of beating drums and there is still time to get your team together and join in the fun. The Milton Keynes Dragon Boat Festival, supported by Business MK and MKFM, celebrates its 17th anniversary on Saturday 23rd June and around half the teams that take part each year are new - so why not join them on the start line? All the entered teams this year are being encouraged to raise sponsorship for MacIntyre, a national charity based in Milton Keynes that supports over 1,500 children, young people and adults who have a learning disability or autism. To make the most of their Festival partnership, MacIntyre are also having a team in this year’s event. Events & Corporate Fundraiser, Jessie Easterby explains how they plan to participate fully in the day and how they will benefit, “This is a brilliant way for us to work together and have a laugh with our colleagues. Lots of the people we support are also very excited to take part, whether that is through volunteering, paddling in the boat, helping with our catering tent or simply watching; and this is at the heart of MacIntyre, to give the people we support new and exciting opportunities, and to involve everyone in any way we can. As the Festival’s new charity partner we want to experience all aspects of the event and get stuck in with the rest of the teams. Some of us are in it to win it, and others are just looking forward to a great day out.” Over 40 crews have already booked their place on the start line and finding the right name for the crew is essential – KPMG have plumped for “Row Hard or Row Home” whilst Frost Landscapes two teams are “Tree Huggers” and “Niff Naff n Triv”. Interserve are clearly not too hopeful as they have named their team “Intersink”. The dragon boats, qualified helms and all racing equipment are provided by organisers Gable Events and each crew is guaranteed a minimum of three races. No previous experience is needed to take part and everyone has a chance to be a winner. Medals and trophies are up for grabs for the top three crews, top mixed crew and the ‘best dressed’ crew. The top fundraisers for MacIntyre will win the Charity trophy plus a special prize meal, sponsored by Merinvest, at highly rated Melis Restaurant in Central Milton Keynes – a great incentive. As well as the dragon boat racing, crews and their families will be able to enjoy a whole variety of bankside entertainment including a funfair, inflatables, food stalls - and even a special flypast by a Dakota aircraft, one of the most iconic aircraft from military history. For further information and an entry form visit: www.dragonboatfestivals.co.uk/miltonkeynes or call Gable Events on 01780 470 718. For information about MacIntyre, visit www.macintyrecharity.org or call 01908 230100