In March 2020, the global covid pandemic forced us to cancel our plans to host Barn Dance number 2, but with the world coming back to it’s ‘new normal’, the 1st July saw Enable Ability’s first Barn Dance in over 5 years!
Grateful that events like this are now in full swing, the Barn Dance (held at the Portsmouth Irish Club) was very well attended with 76 guests dosey-doe-ing their way through the night!
Stoney Ridge were the musical band and callers for the evening, guiding everyone through the steps and making sure all of our guests had a fabulous time. We even had the Deputy Lord Mayor (Councillor Tom Coles), his family, and some young people from our Portsmouth Teenage Project in attendance, who all said they had a super evening! We were so pleased to see so many of our guests donning the traditional checked shirts, jeans and cowboy hats!
To raise additional funds on the night, Enable Ability ran a grand raffle, tombola and blackout game- with many guests taking home some rather exceptional prizes including a Spa day for 2, a meal for 2 including cocktails, gift vouchers, chocolates, champagne and much more! In total, the Barn Dance raised a staggering £1218– a fantastic amount that will go directly to supporting the children and adults with disabilities who use our services!
The event was heavily supported by Zurich Community Trust, who not only paid for the catering and decorations, but they also donated some amazing prizes, including a £50 gift card, Hotel Chocolat hampers and an Afternoon Tea for 2 at the Queens Hotel (to name just a few), as well as volunteering members of their team to come and help on the night. A huge thanks to Leah, Mark, Karen and Chris- we honestly couldn’t have run the event without you!
Our other sponsors and donors included Portsmouth Irish Club, Irwin Mitchell, Solent Hotel and SPA, Councillor Suzy Horton, Eden (Gunwharf), Morrisons at Victory Park and Anchorage Park, Tesco Fratton, BH Live Pyramids Centre, Waitrose Southsea, and Southern Co-op stores- thank you so much for your immense support. We are very appreciative!
Last but not least, a huge thank you must go to all of our supporters, guests, service users, and Trustees who came on the night…. we would not have raised so much without your generosity and your excitement to come and enjoy yourselves!
Enable Ability are already looking into holding the next one in the autumn of 2023….. watch this space!
