Getting in the mood to help hospice

Just when you thought it was all over...Millennium fever is breaking out again. And this time it's in readiness for a summer weekend of party fun all around the region. BBC TV personalities Harry Gration and Clare Frisby turned out for a party preview on York's Bar walls to help promote the Let's Party weekend - on July 1 and 2.

Individuals and groups, pubs, clubs, schools and neighbourhoods are being urged to organise a party event to help raise money for the £2 million Hospice 2000 appeal. The Millennium party weekend will also include York Carnival 2000 when the city will be alive to the sights and sounds of the biggest carnival parade and street events York has ever seen. Attractions will include a city centre Ferris wheel, open-air stages hosting steel bands and salsa acts, and a medieval fair.

Lord Mayor of York Coun Peter Vaughan joined Harry and Clare, as well as BBC Radio York presenter Elly Fiorentini, Sue Nelson of main sponsors Railtrack, and the Let's Party organisers for the Bar walls party. Harry, who lives in York, said: "St Leonard's Hospice cannot be beaten as a good cause. Here is a chance to support the appeal and have some fun."

Clare, said: "I shall be partying in the city that weekend. It is a way of making sure the hospice has a secure future to continue its invaluable work."

Anyone wishing to be involved in Let's Party should ring the Hotline for a party pack: 0800 5286312 (office hours only).

Get ready for the party of a lifetime

FLASHBACK: Pupils from St George's School take part in the Lord Mayor's Parade. Schools are being invited to get involved with York Let's Party and Carnival 2000

Now's the time to start planning your party of the century. With the Christmas tinsel tarnished, the New Year's Eve hangover just a memory, thoughts are turning to summer.

And on one weekend in July, our region will see a mid-year Millennium celebration of a lifetime.

All around York and North and East Yorkshire people will be having fun for the Let's Party weekend on July 1 and 2 - while helping to raise money for charity. And completing the festival atmosphere, our city will be alive to the sights and sounds of York Carnival 2000 - the city's biggest-ever carnival parade and street event.

Families, schools, pubs, offices, shops, Scouts, Guides and neighbourhoods are all being urged to organise a Let's Party celebration, wherever you are in North and East Yorkshire, be it York, Selby, Malton, Pickering, Pocklington or Tadcaster.

It could be a street party, a barbecue or fun night at the local pub, a giant party at a local school, a bike ride or a games night, or simply a get-together in your back garden.

As long as you have fun and help raise cash for the Hospice 2000 appeal, it's up to you.

The Evening Press and Radio York will be featuring the events you tell us about, and BBC TV presenter Harry Gration, who is supporting the project, will be popping in at many of the events throughout the weekend.

Let's Party is being organised for the Hospice 2000 Appeal in association with Railtrack, the Evening Press, City of York Council, St Leonard's Hospice, Radio York and North Yorkshire Police.

If you want to get involved in Let's Party and organise an event, no matter how small, all you have to do is sign up and we will send you an advice pack.

York College has already signed up - and is joining forces with its neighbour, St Leonard's Hospice, to stage a monster bash for the Let's Party weekend.

The college is organising its Community Fun Day 2000, between noon and 4pm on Saturday, July 1, and it promises to be one of the biggest events of its kind to be held in York.

"York College is keen to support the local hospice and by running this event as a joint venture, there are strong neighbourhood links to be realised in the community," said marketing assistant and fun day organiser Jill Sissons.

Community Fun Day 2000 will be held at York College (Further & Higher Education site, Tadcaster Road), there will be no entrance fee, but all funds raised will go towards the Hospice 2000 Appeal.

"Last year York College held its first ever community fun day and it was highly successful as an event for all the family," said Jill. "This year, the event will have that extra special touch because of the involvement of St Leonard's Hospice, who are incorporating their annual Summer Fair into the fun day."

Attractions will include live music, arts and crafts, children's games and activities, local charity stalls, refreshments (including a barbecue), plant and bric-a-brac stalls, bouncy castle and bucking bronco, pony rides and children's assault course.

The college's hair and beauty students will be giving on-the-spot pampering treatments and the Internet suite will be open to anyone wanting to surf the net.

There will be students' art & design exhibitions - and the list of attractions is growing every day!

Meanwhile, it will be carnival time as the streets of York come alive on Sunday, July 2.

Final touches are now being added to plans for a series of events that will take place around the city for Carnival 2000. And they include plans for a city centre Ferris wheel, open-air stages hosting steel bands and salsa acts, a medieval faire, circus-style entertainers and showcases for upcoming artists.

Entertainment will be staged around the carnival parade route which is designed to allow as much involvement as possible by walking troupes and marching bands in addition to floats and speciality entries.

Further details on the exact route will be available in February but in the meantime any city centre venue or outlet that would like to be involved in the programme should contact the Carnival Hotline.

So that everyone has a chance to get involved in this one-day spectacular the carnival organisers will be holding special workshops in the run up to the event so that people can learn new skills that will enable them to make costumes or form a carnival band or troupe.

There will be an opportunity for existing community groups or organisations to engage in their own tailor-made workshop, by entering the Carnival Call For Entries competition which is open until February 21, 2000. (see competition details below).

The theme of the carnival is past, present and future and the event is a major part of the City of York Council's Millennium celebrations which will run throughout the whole of 2000.

Lord Mayor Elect, Councillor Peter Dodd, said: "I am thrilled that the city will stage such a wonderful event in 2000 - a carnival offers a great opportunity for everyone to get involved in so many ways. I am really looking forward to seeing the wonderful costumes and bands parading through the streets and I hope that people will take this event to their heart and go all out to show off their city by helping us to stage a spectacular Millennium carnival that will form part of our memories in the future."

Sponsors are being sought to support the workshops and satellite events - with lots of opportunities for local businesses and venues to get involved in the community and have a strong presence on the day of the event.

The Carnival Hotline - 01904 552013 - is open now for people to register their interest for workshops, sign up for a float or walking troupe, find out about sponsorship opportunities or for general information about the carnival.

York Carnival 2000 is holding a competition to find ten established community groups such as nurseries, parents and tots' groups, charities, older persons' groups, sports and gym clubs, scouts, schools, churches or even news groups who would like to get involved in the Carnival Parade as a walking troupe or carnival band.

Each winning group will be provided with a dedicated workshop leader to help them make costumes, learn a dance, routine or song or even play an instrument. It is hoped that each group will already have their own meeting place but assistance with materials will be given where necessary.

If you are a member or leader of a group and you would like to take part in the carnival, learn new skills and have lots of fun, all you have to do is write to the Carnival Club saying in not more than 200 words why your group should be in the carnival and outlining the kind of entry/costumes you would like to make if you had the resources and extra skills.

The theme of the carnival is York past, present and future and you will need to think of a name for your carnival entry too.

Send your entries, together with a contact name, telephone number and address, to: Carnival Club, City of York Council, Guildhall, York YO1 1QN. The closing date is February 21.

Anyone who wants an information pack on organising a party event can contact the Let's Party helpline on 0800 5286312.

Members of the public and local organisations interested in taking part in Carnival 2000 can contact the hotline on 01904 552013.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.