The Lantern Company is calling on the people of Liverpool to help fund next year’s event after financial constraints led to the cancellation of this year’s festival.
Last week the company announced it would be changing the date and location of this year’s event, usually stage on Halloween in Sefton Park, after struggling to find sponsorship. Liverpool City Council’s Culture Liverpool and Arts Council England provide funding for the event but organisers says without the additional funds provided by sponsorship it is difficult to deliver the event “both artistically and safely”.
The company hopes to hold a three-day event in February instead and is set to launch a crowdfunding campaign to support the project.
In a statement published on the company’s website, Jo Pocock, artistic director of the Lantern Company: “We really hope to keep all the community participants and performance partners on board with us, to take part in just as big a way as in previous years’ Lantern Festivals.
“It is our intention to build on this event and bring Halloween Lantern Carnival back to its October date in 2016. In fact, we would like to see this extend to a week long activity across locations in the Liverpool City region in 2016.
“We will be putting updates on here, so keep your eyes peeled for news, and please do join our mailing list in order to keep up to date with all our exciting new developments and so we can stay in touch and let you know when we launch our crowd funding campaign, watch this space!”
Liverpool City Council has confirmed there are no plans to hold a replacement event in Sefton Park following the Lantern Company’s decision to cancel this year’s Halloween Lantern Carnival.
A spokesperson says: “There are no plans. The lantern parade isn’t a city council event and we just part fund it which is the extent of our support.”
