News: Potato Pants Festival, Wimborne, Dorset

This year’s Potato Pants Festival is taking place on the 1st June at Cobham Sports & Social Club in Wimborne and features a Stella line up of top local acts including One Word, Black Tree Vultures, Matt Black, Mikey Ball & The Company, The Two Man Travelling Medicine Show, Matt Griffiths, Emma Hardy Band, Amie Knight, The Danny Salamander Banda amongst a host of other hand-picked acts.

The Potato Pants Festival was created in 2015 with several objectives in mind. It is both a fundraiser and an awareness raiser for a rare, progressive neurological condition called Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP). It is also a festival for local musicians which is why a connection with Ferndown Live really works well. For the last three years, the festival has been held in the lovely enclosed environment of High Mead Farm, where the event has developed and grown.

In 2019, mainly for accessibility reasons, Potato Pants Festival is moving to Cobham Sports and Social Club. A fair percentage of the audience have disabilities and itís important that itís as accessible as possible and that these people are able to enjoy the experience as much as everyone else. Cobham Sports and Social Club also has improved parking facilities.

For the first time, they are planning on having two stages, and as always, Potato Pants racing will take place during the afternoon. This year they have attracted some well-known local headline bands and with the two stages we look forward to being entertained by many local musicians of varying genreís and levels of experience.

Why Potato Pants?

When explaining to a friend what itís like to have Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP), a lady once suggested that it felt as though her trousers permanently contained 10Kg of potatoes. She said that this made her very clumsy and her mobility was awkward and exhausting. Little did she know that sheíd created a great way to raise awareness of this rare neurological condition, while having loads of fun. So at this Festival, donít be surprised to see some spuds. Between the amazing musical performances, we invite adults and children to compete in short races where they wear specially made trousers that we fill with potatoes. Prizes are awarded and believe me, people have bucket loads of fun.

The Festival raises funds for The Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia Support Group and for our hosts, High Mead Farm. The Hereditary spastic paraplegia Support Group is a registered charity and raises money for research into finding a cure and also to provide grants for individuals affected by the condition to help them access life-changing mobility equipment. Money raised at this event can help a local individual affected by HSP in this manner.

Venue
Cobham Sports & Social Club – Merley Park Road, Ashington Wimborne, Dorset BH21 3DA
TICKETS PRICED AT ONLY £10.50 and can be purchased in advance here.

Links
http://potatopantsfestival.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/PotatoPantsFestival