Last weekend, The Met took over the beautiful Burrs Country Park to host Burrs Live, 2 weeks of live music, family activity, comedy, food and drink. Audiences were entertained by a range of musical acts such as The Magic of Motown, Show of Hands and The Bootleg Beetles. We also welcomed back our annual Head for the Hills festival and were joined by headliners such as Everything Everything and Badly Drawn Boy, and on Sunday, Happy Festival took over the site providing comedy and family entertainment. The aim of the event was to celebrate Bury as Town of Culture by highlighting Bury’s green spaces, investing in Bury’s culture and the events industry and of course, bringing great live music back after the pandemic.
Burrs Live has also allowed us to boost the local economy, supplying much needed business for the events industry, by creating jobs for the 8-week period of the event planning and delivery. We have worked with several local businesses to ensure the success of the event, and have been showcasing them through our social media, highlighting all they have to offer. We are extremely grateful to our sponsors this year, some of whom we have worked with in the past, and we have enjoyed hearing how much they enjoyed sharing the event with colleagues, family and friends.
Burrs Live was powered by Bury based sponsor Crown Oil. As a business, they are passionate about working with local businesses to help make a difference in the local community. We are very grateful that they have chosen to support arts and culture in Bury, by donating fuel to power the event.
We were also supported by ISM Waste and Recycling who provide green and cost-effective waste management and recycling solutions, helping businesses across all industries manage waste better. A family run Bury based business, we were delighted to work with ISM Waste and Recycling again, after they have continually supported Head for the Hills, providing us with more eco-friendly way of managing our waste.
Long-term supporters Avoira have also stepped up to support us with resources at Burrs Live. Avoira are one of The Met’s longest-standing supporters, with their support starting at Ramsbottom Festival in 2014, before becoming Gold members of The Met three years later. This year, Avoira have very kindly supplied our wi-fi networks and two-way radios to ensure Burrs Live runs smoothly, with staff always connected. Avoira also supported us with our reopening by donating one of their new, state of the art, temperature detection machines that has enabled us to better protect our audiences as they return to our venue. The machine offers another layer of reassurance for both us as a venue, and members of the public entering our building, and has proved instrumental in our ongoing recovery.
This year we were also sponsored by Pearson Ferrier, WHN Solicitors, and Principal Sponsors Contained Air Solutions, who have all also previously supported The Met.
Contained Air Solutions have been long term supporters of The Met, originally being sponsors for Head for the Hills Festival in 2015. Ian Warburton, their Project Director, has been one of our loyal audience members for years, and has since also become one of our Patrons, helping us to spread the word about the work that we do.
We were delighted to be sponsored by local property experts Pearson Ferrier again this year. Having previously sponsored Head for the Hills, we were thrilled to be working with them again.
Similarly, WHN Solicitors have previously sponsored our annual Bury Beer Festival as well as sponsoring free milk and cookies for the first evening ‘pyjama performance’ of The Big Snowy Christmas, a few years ago. The continuous support of these local businesses was imperative to making Burrs Live a success.
Situated a stone’s throw from Burrs Park, Kadant UK were one of our newest supporters for Burrs Live. Our partnership started just a few weeks ago, but we are overjoyed that they have chosen to support Burrs Live, and we are looking forward to working with them in the future and showcasing the work that we do.
It goes without saying that the support from local businesses is imperative to making our festivals and events a success. As a charity, sponsorship and support in kind helps secure financial stability and ensures that we can provide access to arts and culture for our local communities. We would like to say a massive thank you to all of our sponsors this year.
If you or your business is interested in supporting The Met or sponsoring future events, please contact rosie.bingham@themet.org.uk.