Barlow Moor Community Association (BMCA) are well and truly at the heart of their community, not least displayed by their well-known annual fun day: “Merseyfest”!
With a name that references the Merseybank estate the group is located in, after the famous river that winds its way around the area, Merseyfest is a huge part of the local calendar. Each event brings the community together and celebrates the people that make it special, with plenty of fun, food and games for all ages and information sharing from the various local partners involved on the day.
Each year around 400-500 people come and enjoy the event across all ages and backgrounds, reflecting the diversity of the estate. BMCA tell us that Merseyfest helps to improve the use of the local green space, and also reduce the social exclusion that many local residents experience given the deprivation experienced in the area. The values of BMCA are massively aimed towards reducing the impacts of poverty and deprivation in their immediate community, and you can read more about that in the story we posted earlier in the year about their most recent grant application to We Love MCR.
BMCA successfully applied to our Stronger Communities Fund back in 2020 for £2,000 to go towards the costs of the event, unfortunately the Covid-19 crisis pushed the event back to 2021. The costs went towards the provision of activities, facilities on site, and even stage hire – which we saw our Chair of Trustees, Lord Mayor Cllr Tommy Judge take to during the day to speak to the attendees!
Merseyfest finally took place on August 11th 2021, with record numbers in attendance. Take a look at the brilliant video they made to celebrate the event!
Toni Toner, Acting CEO for Children & Young People at BMCA, said:
“I wanted to thank you for the part you played in this year’s Merseyfest. It was a long time coming but the result was the biggest event yet! We had in excess of 600 people attend and more partners than ever before.”
