Happy Accidents need help launching Horsham's first children's parade

Parade producers Happy Accidents launched the campaign on Monday and it will run until Sunday November 25.

The event is an official part of the Horsham District Year of Culture 2019 and the ever-popular Funday Sunday family event, and will be held on Sunday July 7.

Aleida Strowger, director of the not-for-profit community arts organisation organising the parade, said: “This is a wonderful opportunity for the community to support local children and celebrate their creative achievements.

“To make something as ambitious, exciting and worthwhile as this happen takes a lot of hard work and, of course, money.

“We raise funds through a number of different channels including arts/community grants, local councils, and sponsorship. All the money raised is spent on making the magic happen.”

Horsham Children’s Parade will be a ‘walking exhibition’ showcasing the creativity of the district’s children through a spectacle of giant models, vibrant costumes and upbeat music paraded through Horsham’s town and park.

The parade will enable children from more than 15 schools (approximately 1,000 participants), aged seven to 11 to work with professional artists, learn about a diverse range of art and artists and showcase their own artwork as an official part of a major cultural event – the Horsham District Year of Culture 2019.

Happy Accidents are running the crowdfunding campaign through Spacehive, a platform used by lots of community projects in West Sussex to raise funds.

It is an all-or-nothing model, which means if they don’t raise all of the money, they won’t get any of it.

Aleida added: “We are not expecting all of the money to come from the community.

“A West Sussex County Council Community Initiative Grant and Esmée Fairbairn Community Grant can onlybe unlocked via the Spacehive /West Sussex Crowd crowdfunding platform.

“What WSCC and Esmée Fairbairn want to see is that projects they are funding have community support.”

The event is modelled on the hugely popular and successful Brighton Children’s Parade, which is now in its 26th year and opens Brighton Festival annually.

“We’re very pleased to say that Same Sky, the award-winning arts charity who produce the Brighton parade, are co-producing the Horsham parade,” revealed Aleida.

Designed to be an inclusive event, participating schools include additional needs educator Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee, and those in rural village communities – enabling children, who may not otherwise get the opportunity, to showcase their creativity to their community.

The parade, which will be free to watch, is set to take place on Sunday, July 7 between 10am and 12 noon.

To donate or to find out more about the campaign, visit www.spacehive.com/horsham-childrens-parade

Updates will be posted on Facebook at www.facebook.com/horshamchildrensparade