THE free music festival Tonbridge Calling has donated £150 each to two local charities from the proceeds of last summer’s event.
The organisers also announced that Tonbridge Calling 2019 [TC19] will be held at the Racecourse Sportsground on Saturday, August 10, next year.
This year’s beneficiaries are Nourish Community Foodbank, which supports people in financial crisis with food donations in Tunbridge Wells and south Tonbridge, and RefugEase, a charity which provides emergency humanitarian aid, education facilities and field-based aid workers in war-torn countries.
RefugEase have a collection coming up this Sunday [November 4] at St John’s School in Sevenoaks to restock the Pembury Road warehouse with supplies for refugees escaping danger and poverty around the world.
Fred Long, one of the festival’s organisers, said: “We believe each of these organisations is perfectly aligned to our ethos of building communities without barriers.
“We wish to thank the residents of Tonbridge for their continued support, the bands for performing, the food and drink vendors who contributed to our funds, and the 40 wonderful volunteers who ensured a peaceful fun event.”
In previous years, the proceeds have been split between three charities, but this time just two causes will benefit.
This is due to doubts about the festival’s viability to be staged free of charge on Tonbridge’s Racecourse Sportsground.
The public space is owned by Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council, which is contemplating imposing a fee for hosting community events.
Fred added: “As with the previous Tonbridge Calling events, the organisers were determined that local charities should benefit from any monies left over from the cost of staging the free music festival.
“With the uncertainties surrounding the council’s plans to charge next year, we have had to limit our donations to two charities this year.”
