Fleur East and Toploader headlining Essex festival
Money raised will go towards good causes
Our very own Fleur East will be headlining a music festival in Essex, alongside rock band Toploader and ska and reggae band, The Dualers.
The Anti Loo Roll Festival takes place on 10th September in Colchester's Castle Park, and is designed to raise money for a number of charities in the area.
It's run by the Anti Loo Roll Brigade, which was initially set up as a response to the panic buying during the early days of the Covid 19 pandemic, and to provide a support network for those who needed help to get through lockdown.
Since then, the group's mission has evolved - they carry out DIY-SOS projects, provide support, goods and furniture to those in need, work with various local agencies and recently launched a summer camp for children.
Peter Dutch founded the group and the festival: "Having an affordable, authentic, safe family festival that Colchester can be proud of, which then goes on to help people in the community? It's a win-win!"
The event features more than twenty acts, including Oasis, Steps and Taylor Swift tribute acts and a cabaret stage.
He says they've made a real effort to enable as many people as possible to come to the festival: "We've worked hard to make it as affordable and accessible as possible - our adult tickets are half the price of similar events.
"Despite that, I'm really hoping we can make some money to support the community...
"We've also made sure we've given plenty of tickets to local families who can't afford to go otherwise, and have worked with Autism Anglia to provide a quiet area for children with autism to go and relax away from the noise and crowds."
This is the festival's second year, and founder Peter Dutch, told us he wants it to continue for many years: "We're hoping we can turn this into a yearly event for Colchester and attract some really big names!"
Alongside fundraising and great music, Peter wants the event to be a big party: "It's extremely important to me that as well as a fundraiser our festival is a celebration of the ALB and the way we came together as a community through our toughest times and created a safe place to get people the help needed."