|
DEEP’s strategy had worked and been a resounding success
and the day passed without a hitch.
The Doncaster Evening Economy Partnership is a multi organisational partnership which was formed in November 2005 with a mandate from the Doncaster Strategic Partnership (DSP) to develop the night time economy in Doncaster. The partnership is funded for two years by the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund and includes representatives from South Yorkshire Police, Doncaster Council, Doncaster Primary Care Trusts, South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive, Doncaster Pubwatch, CAMRA, Licensed Victuallers, and Community Groups. DEEP has been successful in many town centre projects to encourage a more cosmopolitan atmosphere, such as improved street lighting, more CCTV, the Best Bar None campaign and trial pedestrianisation of certain streets during weekend evenings. One of the biggest improvements has been to increase the number of ‘al fresco’ eating and drinking establishments, nurturing the street café style of larger cities. All these factors go together to project a safe environment for people of all ages to enjoy themselves in and encourage more diverse businesses and trade to the area. The latest DEEP initiative is the Doncaster Live Festival 2006. Following the success of last years event, the Evening Economy Partnership was heavily involved in promoting and organizing the day, liaising with licensees, local tradesmen and event planners to ensure everything went as smoothly as possible. This year, thanks to DEEP, there were more acts, better information facilities and a reassuring presence of safety officers to make the whole day a safer and more welcoming affair.
Throughout the day various acts and performers would go through their routines at various sites around town, on the streets, in pubs and culminating in the main event; the live band festival in the marketplace where 2,000 people were expected to attend.
Although there were strictly designated areas for the various acts, the spirit of the day meant that no matter where you walked during the day, you were always in earshot of a live performance of some sort. The atmosphere was always friendly, very generous and incredibly good natured. Kids loved the clowns and the face painters, adults could nip into a pub to listen to some great live music and everyone thrilled to daring jugglers and fire-eaters. Wherever you looked, there was always a smiling face!
Many pubs around town also hosted their own events, in conjunction with DEEP. The idea was to create a prelude to the main event, a sort of extended warm-up act, where people could hop from pub to pub and be entertained whilst getting ready for the big outdoor concert later on. As if the hordes didn’t need an excuse to escape into a pub anyway, the torrential downpour and thunderstorm in the afternoon ensured that most pubs were packed anyway!
The Tut ‘n’ Shive on West Laith Gate kicked off with an Australian girl duo Tall Poppies. The large crowd got into the spirit of things straight away and the girls’ bluesy, sultry guitar numbers went down a storm. The adverse weather conditions outside meant that everyone was just glad to be indoors and showed their appreciation at
being entertained in very vocal fashion. Tall Poppies are a very polished act and their particular brand of easy-going pop was great start to the afternoon. Next up, the Woolpack for a real treat. UV Pop is an established ‘one-man-band-with others’ with a large following. UV Pops challenging music and confrontational lyrics take no prisoners, but that’s the attraction. On to the Horse and Groom. Despite the storm the temperature was still very high, so the ducking in and out of pubs for a pint or two whilst watching the acts was a very welcome respite from the humidity! In the corner were Blueberry, a folk-singing trio who had toes a-tapping and Irishmen a jigging. Well, Irishman anyway. The ballads and ditties were a refreshing change from the more pop-oriented leanings of other acts and were excellent to sit back and relax to. No rest for the mildly naughty though, so we were off again to the Castle for a musical feast that couldn’t have been more removed from the Horse and Groom. The top nightspot was playing host to a marathon dance day, featuring live DJ’s and a veritable cornucopia of dance, rave, house, trance, funk and just about everything else in between. The tunes were loud, the atmosphere was kicking and the dancers were, well, dancing! Although not everyone’s scene, the Boiler Rooms successfully illustrated the variety on offer for Doncaster Live. From pop to folk, dance to blues, there was something for any taste.
So as the afternoon turned into evening, our attention was ffocused firmly on the main stage. Many pubs continued their themes into the night and more bands played as the crowds came and went. DEEP’s strategy had worked and been a resounding success and the day passed without a hitch. The cosmopolitan atmosphere came to town and we loved it!
Click to view the document  |
