Barwick-in-Elmet Maypole Trust

Our ongoing fundraising efforts have been going steadily but slowly. We're still hoping we'll raise what we need to assure that the Maypole Festival will go ahead next year.

But donations to our GoFundMe page have rather dropped off, and we've not had anything in over two weeks. We know lots of you have already donated - and thank you so much for doing so - but if you've yet to donate, and can afford just a few pounds, please consider helping us out.

We can't do it without you, but we're sure you'll do us proud! Just click the link below to go to our page. Thank you!

https://gofund.me/b3a4da58

Our fundraising drive had been going really well, but we're sad to say we've not had a donation to our GoFundMe page in over two weeks!

We're hoping the village hasn't forgotten us, and that there are still folk out there eager to help us fund the Maypole Festival 2025.

Every pound counts, so if you've not yet donated, please help us out by following the link below. Alternatively, you can pop a cheque or cash through the door at 3 Maypole Mews. Thank you! ☺️

https://gofund.me/2dda233e

Huge thanks to Barwick In Line who raised an amazing £163 for the Maypole Trust from their raffle this weekend.

Thanks also to all those who donated prizes, including Pizza Picante, Occasions and the Gascoigne Arms.

A quick 'Thank You' to the Gascoigne Arms, Occasions and the Maypole Deli for kindly donating some fabulous prizes for Barwick In Line's raffle at their upcoming 'Afternoon Social'. All funds raised will be helping the Maypole Trust, so we really appreciate it.

But - as they say - you've got to be in it to win it, so pop down to the Village Hall tomorrow to take part.

Don't forget Barwick In Line's 'Afternoon Social' coming up this Sunday.

They're kindly holding a raffle with proceeds going to the Maypole Trust; but they're in need of some tip-top prizes, so if anyone's got anything they can donate, please DM Tracey Preston and she'll arrange to collect.

Thank you.

One thing is for certain: Maypole Day really pulls the crowds in!

We're desperately hoping to be able to fill the village with happy revellers at next year's Maypole Festival, but we still need to raise the funds to do it.

If you've not donated yet and can spare 5 or 10 quid, click the link below and help us out. Alternatively, you can pop your donation through the letterbox at 3 Maypole Mews.

Thank you!

https://gofund.me/e0470a16

The Maypole Festival 2025 is due to be held one year today!

But it still hangs in the balance, and we still need to secure more funds to make sure we can put on a great day of fun, food, beer, dancing and tradition.

If you haven't done so already, and can afford just 5 or 10 quid, please click the link below and help us out. Every pound counts. Thank you.

https://gofund.me/8a7bc98f

We'd like to thank The Black Swan for their kind donation. Much appreciated.

Don't forget, each and every donation brings us closer to being able to secure our maypole tradition and confirm that the Maypole Festival 2025 will go ahead.

Details of all the ways you can help us are below. Thanks as ever for any amount you can give.

As the old saying goes, "Many hands make light work", as this photo from the last Maypole Festival demonstrates rather well.

But it's been a full FIVE DAYS since anyone's donated to our fundraising page.

It's great that we've now made over £3,000, but that's come via just 152 donations. There are over 2,000 people in Barwick alone, and it would only take 600 donations of £5 to raise another £3K.

If you've not had the chance yet, please click on the link below and help us out. Thank you ☺️

https://gofund.me/977d5b45

The Northern Lights over Barwick Maypole. Quite the display.

Also, many, many thanks to everyone who's donated via bank transfer or by posting cash/cheque to us.

It means we've so far received another £1,000 in addition to the £3,000 raised via our official fundraising page.

If you'd like to donate this way, our bank details are:

Account name: Barwick in Elmet Maypole Committee
Account no.: 11780065
Sort code: 05-00-50

Cheques or cash can be posted to 3 Maypole Mews, LS15 4PE.

Thank you!

Delighted to let you all know that our fundraising page total has now passed £3,000!!!

And that's all from just 148 donations. Imagine how much we could raise if we had 1,000 or even 2,000 donations.

It's so important to the village that we keep our maypole tradition going, and we really want to be able to host the Maypole Festival next year. If you can, please click on the link below and help us out. Thank you.

https://gofund.me/5da260e0

Delighted to let you all know that our fundraising page total has now passed £3,000!!!

And that's all from just 148 donations. Imagine how much we could raise if we had 1,000 or even 2,000 donations.

It's so important to the village that we keep our maypole tradition going, and we really want to be able to host the Maypole Festival next year. If you can, please click on the link below and help us out. Thank you.

https://gofund.me/5da260e0

Many thanks to Chris and the team at Barwick Village Store & Post Office for coming up with really clever fundraising scheme.

Every time you shop with them, you'll be given the chance to donate £1 to the Maypole Trust. A really simple way to help us out, and to contribute to our fundraising for the Maypole Festival next year!

It's back... 😊🍻

https://www.facebook.com/barwickbeerfestival

For any budding cowboys and cowgirls out there who'd like to show off their moves (or even for non-dancers who just fancy a bit of a 'social') feel free to join Barwick In Line on the 9th of June.

And what's better still, they're holding a raffle for the Maypole Trust. So get along and show your support for two great causes!

We've now passed the £2,500 mark via just 120 donations on our fundraising page. Thanks to everyone who's contributed.

But with over 2,000 people following the Maypole Trust page, and a similar number living in Barwick, it'd be great to see a few more people helping out. 1,000 people donating just a fiver would make all the difference to our efforts to put the Maypole Festival on next year.

If you can help, please do. Just follow the link below. Thank you! 😊

https://gofund.me/9cafe4fb

A wonderful old photograph from 70 years ago, showing couples dancing around the maypole to the accompaniment of a brass band.

The Maypole Festival has long been a really important tradition for Barwick, bringing the whole community together.

We're hoping to put it on again next year, but we're still desperate for the funding to do so. If you've not made a donation yet, please click the link below and help us out. Thank you.

https://gofund.me/f1959c27

A lot of doormats around the village should, by now, have been graced with our fundraising leaflet dropping onto them.

If you've received one, do give it a read before assigning it to the recycling bin and - if you can - please help us out with a donation.

Thank you!

Exactly one year today will be Easter Monday, the day we're due to lower the maypole for its three-yearly repainting and restoration, ready for its raising again at the Maypole Festival on Spring Bank Holiday Monday.

But it won't happen if we don't have the funds to pay for crane hire, insurance and all the other costly elements involved.

If you can, please help by donating to our fundraising page (link below), via bank transfer to Barwick Maypole Committee, acc. no. 11780065, sort code 05-00-50, or by posting cheque or cash to 3 Maypole Mews, Barwick-in-Elmet, LS15 4PE. Thank you!

https://www.gofundme.com/f/fund-barwick-maypole-festival-2025

Our leaflets are starting to land on people's doormats this weekend.

We're really hoping that getting the message out there will help us towards our fundraising target.

With around 1,300 houses in Barwick, just £5 per house would raise an amazing £6,500!

If you've not made a donation yet and could afford just a few pounds towards the Maypole Festival, follow the link below to our fundraising page. Thank you! ☺️

https://www.gofundme.com/f/fund-barwick-maypole-festival-2025

Our fundraising campaign has stepped up a gear.

Coming to a letterbox near you very soon...

Hello everybody. Hope you're enjoying a lazy Sunday afternoon.

We're still working hard to raise the funds for next year's Maypole Festival. Every penny donated counts, so if you've got a spare minute, pop on over to our GoFundMe page and help us reach our target.

Thank you! 😊

Help to Fund Barwick Maypole Festival 2025, organized by Mark Vipond Barwick-in-Elmet is home the UK's tallest traditional maypole. Standing at near… Mark Vipond needs your support for Help to Fund Barwick Maypole Festival 2025

A big THANK YOU to everyone who joined us in the Black Swan last night. We were surprised so many turned up and it was a really positive meeting.

For those who've said they'd like to join us on the committee, we'll contact you imminently via a new WhatsApp group.

Anyone who's volunteered their help to take on the multitude of jobs that face us in the run-up to the Maypole Festival, we'll be in touch soon.

Evenin' all. Just a quick reminder that in our continued search for a few more volunteers, we're holding a Maypole Trust meeting in the Black Swan tomorrow from 7:00pm. We're only a very small band of villagers, so any help will be greatly appreciated.

Planning proper for the 2025 Festival won't start until later this year (assuming we raise enough cash!) and it won't get *really* busy for us until early next year. If you think you're up for it, pop down tomorrow, have a pint and see what we're all about.

Delighted to say we've just passed the £1500 mark on our funding page, and all via just 57 donations. Imagine how much we could raise with 570!

Thanks to all who've helped so far.

Thank you also to Sam and Vivienne Razavilar and all at Pizza Picante who've kindly made a separate donation. Very much appreciated.

Haven't made a donation yet? Now's your chance - just follow the link below.

Help to Fund Barwick Maypole Festival 2025, organized by Mark Vipond Barwick-in-Elmet is home the UK's tallest traditional maypole. Standing at near… Mark Vipond needs your support for Help to Fund Barwick Maypole Festival 2025

Four years ago today we had to cancel the Maypole Festival due to the pandemic. It would be another two years before we'd be able to hold it again.

We had no choice in 2020. But the fate of next year's Festival is very much in our own hands. All we need is the funds to put it on.

If you're able to help with even a small donation, simply follow the link to our GoFundMe page. Thank you.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/fund-barwick-maypole-festival-2025

Following the latest advice from the government on the Coronavirus crisis, it's with the greatest of regret that we find ourselves with no choice but to cancel this year's Maypole Festival. It probably won't come as much of a surprise to anyone who's followed the news the past few days, but it'll still be a bitter disappointment to everyone who was looking forward to the big day.

We plan to leave the maypole in situ for another year. Checks on the pole show it to be sound (it's only 15 years into its 25 year warranty, so it should be!). This will mean that - all being well - the next Maypole Festival will be on 31st May 2021.

We're in the process of contacting everyone involved in terms of school, fair, brass band, stallholders etc. If you haven't heard from us yet, you will soon.

As a village we've experienced our share of tough times over the years, but rest assured we're certain we'll get through this and emerge to put on a fabulous Maypole Day next year!

We really want to put on another great Maypole Festival for you next year. But there're two things we're short of:

1. Volunteers

2. Money

You can help us with No. 1 by offering your services at our open committee meeting on Wednesday 20th March, from 7pm in the Black Swan.

And you can help with No. 2 by donating via our GoFundMe page (link below) or go 'old school' by popping a cheque or cash through the letterbox at 3 Maypole Mews.

Thank you in advance!

https://www.gofundme.com/f/fund-barwick-maypole-festival-2025

We've had a great initial response to our Maypole Festival 2025 fundraising campaign. Hopefully this will continue and we'll get the money we need to put on another great festival next year.

There have also been a few people who've been in touch asking about joining us on the Trust organising committee. We're only a very small band of villagers, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

We're holding a meeting in the Black Swan from 7:00pm on the the 20th March, so if you're thinking of offering your services, come along and check us out (we're generally a very friendly bunch, all the more so if you buy us a beer!).

Thank you to all those who've donated towards the Maypole Festival 2025 via our GoFundMe page. We've raised £1,445 from 52 very kind donations so far.

We'd also like to offer our heartfelt thanks to the Atkinson family, who after the sad passing of Norma held a collection in her memory for the Maypole Trust, raising the princely sum of £265 for a cause that we know was important to both Norma and Geoff.

If you'd like to make a donation to help make sure we can hold Maypole Day next year, just click below.

Help to Fund Barwick Maypole Festival 2025, organized by Mark Vipond Barwick-in-Elmet is home the UK's tallest traditional maypole. Standing at near… Mark Vipond needs your support for Help to Fund Barwick Maypole Festival 2025

Hello everybody.

The Maypole Trust is working hard to make sure we can hold yet another fantastic Maypole Festival next year.

But since the pandemic, we’ve found it incredibly difficult to get our fundraising back to where it used to be.

Because of venue issues and fewer volunteers, we’ve not been able to resurrect the massively popular Beer Festival that was such a huge part of our funding.

And as we’re now only a little more than a year away from lowering the maypole for its three-yearly paint-job (due on Easter Monday 2025) we’ve found ourselves in a position where we might not be able to go ahead unless we can get the cash together to pay for it all.

Since we’re not going to be able to organise any dedicated fundraising events in time, we’re going to have to turn to the village - and those further afield who enjoy the Maypole Festival - to try and raise the money we need.

Our GoFundMePage is still up and running, and it’s a really easy way to donate. We’re also putting together a leafleting campaign to cover the whole village and beyond with ways to help us out, hopefully including the facility to make a monthly donation to the Maypole Trust.

We hope you’ll agree we’ve not done too bad a job over the past 20 years or so hosting the Maypole Festival. And as long as we have the funds, we guarantee we can put on another fantastic day for all next year, including maypole dancing, our fabulous May Queen’s Procession, fun fair, street stalls, our brave maypole climber, great food and drink and more.

So if you can, please try and make a donation - however big or small - via our GoFundMe, or look out for the leaflet coming your way soon.

Help to Fund Barwick Maypole Festival 2025, organized by Mark Vipond Barwick-in-Elmet is home the UK's tallest traditional maypole. Standing at near… Mark Vipond needs your support for Help to Fund Barwick Maypole Festival 2025