A spectacular and unique community event, Burning the Clocks brings the whole city together to mark the shortest day of the year. It sees local people construct paper and willow lanterns, then parade through the city. It not only lights up Brighton’s darkest night, but offers a time for reflection and thought, who are we? Where have we been? Where are we going? What do we want for our City?
This iconic parade hosts 2,000 participants, with a further 20,000 spectators, but relies on fundraising and the support of local businesses to cover rising running costs. A crowdfunding scheme has been launched, rewarding people with different prizes based on donation size.
These include fabulous personalised lanterns for the parade, limited-edition A2 prints of our incredible cover by local artist Graham Carter and many gifts from local businesses. Donors can also receive VIP passes to watch the event from a prime location on the beach.
John Varah, Same Sky artistic director said: “Our crowdfunder for Burning the Clocks is essential to keep this event alive, as it costs over £30,000 to produce each year and doesn’t receive any guaranteed funding. We’ve been overwhelmed in the past with support from the public who make donations along the route and this is also crucial to cover the growing costs for this fabulous winter parade and celebration on Winter Solstice.
Mr Varah added: “I’d like to encourage anyone who wants to join us on the parade, or anyone who has enjoyed it in the past, to take a look at some of our new prizes on offer this year. I’d like to say a huge personal thank you to all of the local restaurants and organisations who have donated prizes to help us raise crucial funding.”
A range of restaurants across the city are also offering dining experiences for people donating between £105 and £155, including Chilli Pickle, Kooks, Terre a Terre, Moshimo and The Ivy in the Lanes, while Brighton Dome is offering four tickets to the Super Sunday Christmas show to the person that donates £135 or more.
Since 1993, Burning the Clocks has brought an uplifting antidote to the excesses of a commercial Christmas. Each lantern maker is part of the show, investing their lanterns with their wishes, hopes, and fears and then passing them into a huge bonfire on Brighton beach. This year’s theme is a reflective one, responding to the current challenges of global warming, community cohesion and migration. The title is taken from Marcel Proust’s masterpiece “A la recherche du temps perdu”. The theme relates to shared memories, lost things, things we want to keep and treasure and moments that we hold dear and that have “made us”. Above all how we all have a common humanity forged by sharing our lives, loves and memories.
Find out more, at: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/burning-the-clocks-2019
Burning The Clocks comes to the streets of Brighton on Sat 21 Dec 2019 from 6.30pm
