Simon ParkinIndie five-piece Bearsuit will be headlining an all-day event at St Andrew's Hall to help raise vital funds for those affected by the earthquake in Haiti on February 6. Help Haiti will include music, dance, craft and art activities.More about Save The Children's Haiti appealSimon Parkin
A host of bands, including Norwich favourites Bearsuit, will be playing an all-day event at St Andrew's Hall to help raise vital funds for those affected by the earthquake in Haiti on February 6.
The Help Haiti event will have everything from fire-eating and juggling to Clutter City craft stalls, drum and dance workshops, art installations and a healing zone, alongside a cracking line-up of local music talent.
Other bands performing on the day include popular ska/swing outfit The He Hews, Pinky Umbrella, whose eclectic sound combines Eastern European, Cajun and bluegrass tunes, and Cuban rhythms from Guateque.
The event is the brainchild of Starbuck Friend, 19, who initially planned to get buskers together to raise money for the earthquake appeal. But the idea grew and so many people wanted to join in that the event has turned into a mini-festival.
There are now six people, including her mother and stepfather on the organising committee. It will raise money for Save the Children's Haiti appeal.
Starbuck, who lives in Rosary Road, Thorpe Hamlet, said: 'Hearing about the earthquake and caring about that made me want to do something about it. Originally it was going to be a few buskers together but it has got bigger.'
She does not know how much the event will raise, but hopes 200 people will attend. Stallholders will also contribute to the appeal.
Her mother Geraldine, a credit controller who lives on Bluebell Road in the Golden Triangle, said: 'I am incredibly proud of her. I always used to say she would change the world.
'It's got bigger than any of us ever imagined. The thing I have found most inspiring is that everyone we have mentioned it to has wanted to do something, it has captured people's imagination.
'The people in Haiti don't even have water and they have been digging their loved ones out. To feel we can do something, even if it is only a drop in the ocean, is really good.'
The all-day event on Saturday will include family-friendly activities between 11am and 1pm and the bands from 1pm. There will be a craft fair and healing zone, dance demonstrations and Norwich band Bearsuit will be among the bands performing.
Bearsuit will be previewing new material from their forthcoming album, which they have just finished recording with producer Gareth Parton, who has previously worked with Go Team!, Breeders and Foals.
Starbuck, who moved to Norwich from Gloucestershire, is a keen musician who has played on stage with actor and musician Keith Allen - father of Lily Allen - at a Stroud music festival in September. He asked her to join him on stage when he recognised her from open mike sessions in his local pub. She said: 'I was stewarding at the festival and said hello to him and he said, 'You should sing with us.' I had my steward's outfit on and I had to borrow a guitar off them, but it only had five strings and the strap was really long, so it kept falling off!'
t The Help Haiti event runs from 11am-8pm on February 6, in St Andrew's Hall, Norwich. From 11am to 1pm entrance is by voluntary donation. After 1pm entrance to the crafts and healing area is still by donation, and entry to hear the bands is �5 for adults and donations for children.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here