Popular all-day music extravaganza My Dad’s Bigger Than Your Dad Festival in Old Town Gardens raised more than £7,000 For Prospect Hospice this year.
Si and Matt Hall on the bandstand stage
The festival, organised in association with South Swindon Parish Council, was held at The Old Town Bowl on Saturday 16 July with over 800 people in attendance.
This was the second year of the festival which was organised in tribute to Dave Young, the former landlord of The Victoria and 12 Bar who died in early June 2021 at Prospect Hospice after a hard-fought battle against cancer.
This year saw some of the best acts of the local music scene come together with including The Lost Trades, All Ears Avow and Rave Against The Regime.
Anna Sprawson, Dave’s widow, said: “For the second year running the people of Swindon have come together to celebrate not only the local music scene in the wonderful surroundings of Old Town Gardens but also to support Prospect Hospice and raise much-needed funds.
“Prospect Hospice are a wonderful organisation who were there for Dave and his family at our greatest time of need so every bit of money raised is a way of giving back to them.
“This would not have been possible without the hard work of so many volunteers for the second year in a row meaning more money was able to go to Prospect. We can’t thank them enough.”
My Dad’s, which this year had Future Planning as its headline sponsor, took place over two stages with acts performing on the Old Town Bandstand acoustic stage and the main stage in the Old Town Bowl.
Co-organiser Ed Dyer said: “I’ve got to say we were blown away by the support Swindon showed to our new one-day festival. For the second year running we were helped by the weather and the atmosphere was terrific with everyone leaving with massive smiles on their faces.
“Swindon has so much talent when it comes to its music scene and My Dad’s has become a real showcase of what amazing artists the town has to offer.
“The day could not have gone any better and we are especially proud that we have raised so much money for such a wonderful charity as Prospect Hospice.”
The organisers of the festival are currently meeting to decide how they can make 2023 an even bigger and better event.
Sheryl Crouch, Head of Income at Prospect Hospice, said: “We were thrilled to hear the team were arranging the My Dad’s Bigger Than Your Dad Festival again this year in Memory of Dave Young. We really cannot thank everyone involved enough for the huge amount of work that takes place behind the scenes pulling an event like this together & of course our wonderful community who came along to support this brilliant fundraising event. Raising such a significant amount of money will help us to continue caring for terminally ill patients and their families in our community when they need us. On their behalf, thank you again, we are deeply appreciative of the incredible support you have shown us once again this year.”
Prospect Hospice delivers with no charge to patients and their families, care, comfort and confidence, around the clock, every day of the year, to a community of 300,000 people across Swindon, Marlborough and north east Wiltshire. The services costs £7.5million to deliver and Prospect Hospice receives only 25% in funding, making fundraising events like this crucial.
Part of the fee paid to South Swindon Parish Council to use the venue has been put aside to help raise money for the restoration of the Old Town Bowl.
The Parish Council's Leisure & Amenities Committee Chair, Neil Hopkins, said: “I am delighted that South Swindon Parish Council has been able to partner with Swindon Shuffle for the second year, on the My Dad’s Bigger Than Your Dad Festival, which was held in the iconic art deco Town Gardens Bowl and raised over £7,000 at this year’s event for Prospect Hospice.
“We look forward to the My Dad’s Bigger than Your Dad Festival becoming an annual fixture in the Town Gardens Bowl providing a great musical event for residents and supporting a tremendously worthwhile local charity.”
As well as the music there were plenty of activities for all the family and food and drink from a variety of locally based vendors, including a licenced bar and a really popular craft market.
Sponsors of the event included Hills Waste, Swindon Link, Gastech, Leighton’s Opticians, and Holmes Music.
Early tickets for next year’s event are available now from the website www.mydadsbiggerthanyourdad.co.uk
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