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WEST Lakes Renaissance will invest £138,175 in new and established events throughout Furness and West Cumbria in 2008-9.

From foolish fun at historic Muncaster Castle and the thrills and spills of kite surfing in Barrow, to music from renowned rockers Status Quo in Whitehaven, The Zutons in Barrow and a brand new youth festival in Maryport - the West Lakes Renaissance events programme is bigger, better and broader in scope than ever.

The events programme is designed to celebrate local communities across Furness and West Cumbria while at the same time attract visitors from far and wide. In turn, this helps raise the profile of the area, brings money into the local economy and creates new opportunities for local people to develop skills and job prospects in the cultural sector.

In West Cumbria money has been given to the Festival of Fools at Muncaster Castle in Ravenglass and Whitehaven Music Festival, which will be headlined by Status Quo; the brand new Maryport Youth Festival and Paint the Town Red, a community festival in Workington which will see actor Ricky Thomlinson headline.

In Furness, West Lakes Renaissance has given financial support to bring the British Kite Surfing Championships back to windy Walney Island for a second year, while help has also been given to the new events, Furness Fest; The Sunday Session music event; Film Industry Insiders Talent Festival; Furness Festival of Culture and Celebrating Barrow Community event.

For the first time this year West Lakes Renaissance is setting aside £5,000 for training so events are successful and self-sustainable.

Denise Smalley, Project Manager at West Lakes Renaissance with the remit for events in West Cumbria, said: "This is yet another exciting events programme and we are delighted to support so many new events which will help to broaden the scope of the cultural offering in across Furness and West Cumbria.

"The overall programme will help make this unique part of Cumbria a great place to live and visit as well as work, and the wide range of events we have supported this year perfectly reflects the cultural vibrancy we want to foster and grow.

"In West Cumbria we are looking forward to the fun and frolics at the ever popular Festival of Fools while we are welcoming new events like Paint the Town Red, which will celebrate Workington's growing arts scene among residents of all ages."

Nicola Foster, Project Manager with the remit for events in Barrow-in-Furness, added: "Barrow is establishing itself as a top venue for cultural and sporting events, and this is perfectly reflected in our programme for the year.

"As well as welcoming back the very best kite surfers we are also supporting a host of new events that showcase the local talents in music, digital technology and the strong community spirit that gives Barrow its unique identity."

For the first time this year's programme will see money set aside for events training. This can be used to help organisers stage the best possible event and also maximise their exposure to wider audiences through improved promotion and marketing.

Denise Smalley added: "This money is there to help events grow and become self-sustainable, while at the same time improve skills levels within the growing cultural sector we have across Furness and West Cumbria."

Money has also been awarded to help develop a new event that will take place in 2009-10. A total of £5,000 has been awarded to develop Steel Giant - a project that will see the community groups and schools joining forces with professional playwrights and artists to stage outdoor theatre and performances based on the legend of Iron Man and inspired by the experiences of the decline of the steel industry in West Cumbria.

The West Lakes Renaissance Events Programme crosses over strategies to improve arts and culture and in youth retention and tourism. A full list of events, together with further information is included in notes to editors

4:32pm Tuesday 27th May 2008

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