Are you planning a wedding, christening, dinner party or other function? Then here’s your chance to transform it into a banquet with a side of smoked salmon by entering our special raffle.

Mark Duwe of Prydonian Digital has generously donated a £40 side of smoked salmon*, from the Little Greenwich Smokery/London’s Larder towards our Save the Make Merry raffle.

Raffle tickets cost £1 each and can be bought at:

• The Plumstead Community Market at St Mark with St Margaret’s Church Hall, Plumstead Common between 11am and 3pm, next Saturday 7 March
• The Plumstead Make Merry Spring/Easter Events at the Greenwich RFC Pavilion on Plumstead Common on Sunday 29 March 12.30 – 3pm
• Online via our Save the Make Merry donation page. When making an online donation, please mention ‘Raffle’ in the remarks and a contact number/address.

*Available at your convenience, with one week’s notice.

Help us make our 40th anniversary simply by shopping online!

Using the ‘easyfundraising’ website, you can help us raise funds for this year’s festival. You don’t pay anything extra and there is no cost or catch for signing up so what are you waiting for? Simply register at www.easyfundraising.org.uk and from this website, click through to your chosen shopping site (e.g. John Lewis) to make your purchase. The price of your item is exactly the same but once you have made your purchase, John Lewis will give a cash reward which you can turn into a donation for the Plumstead Make Merry which is collected by Easyfundraising and passed onto us at no extra cost. Easy!

Visit the easyfundraising website now and help Save the Make Merry.

Following the success of our children’s Christmas party, the Plumstead Make Merry is hosting a children’s Easter/Spring event on Sunday 29 March including a special egg hunt!

The event will take place at the Greenwich Rugby Football Club, The Pavilion on Plumstead Common and will help raise much needed funds for this year’s festival so please come and show your support.

There are currently two one-hour sessions planned on the day: 12:00 to 1:00pm and 1.30 to 2.30pm.

Child tickets cost £3.50 (with a maximum of 2 adults per family/group booking who go free) and covers activities such as decorating an Easter/Spring card, making a basket and an Easter egg hunt. Parents/carers are also encouraged to bring along a bonnet/hat that their child has made at home/school/nursery and a prize will be given to the best!

Child tickets can be bought in advance and collected from the Plumstead Make Merry stall at the Plumstead Community Market on Saturday 7 March in St Mark’s Church Hall on Old Mill Road. No tickets are necessary for adults but donations are welcome with all money going towards this year’s 40^th anniversary festival.

Book your ticket now by visiting the ‘Events’ section of our Facebook page.

Could you take the stage at the next Plumstead Make Merry? We’re looking for talented musicians, dance acts and performers to entertain the crowds at this year’s festival on 6 June 2015.

We’re looking to fill slots for two main performance areas, The Bandstand (for music and dance acts) and the Acoustic Café (for acoustic and spoken word acts) and although we would prefer local acts, we will consider applications from further afield. All acts do, however, need to be family friendly.

Interested? Then send details of your act, including where you are based, examples of you performing (e.g. an MP3 track or links to relevant websites or social media sites), and a photograph to entertainment@plumsteadmakemerry.co.uk.by 28 February 2015. Places are limited so make sure you get your application in now!

The date of the next Plumstead Make Merry has been announced as Saturday 6 June 2015, 12-6pm.

The Make Merry is the longest-running community festival in the Royal Borough of Greenwich with over 5000 people coming along to enjoy a fun filled day of music, arts and activities that celebrate the history and diversity of the local area.

With 2015 marking the Make Merry’s 40^th anniversary, work is already underway to not only make sure the event has enough funds to run in 2015, but that it is also the biggest festival yet.

The Make Merry is run entirely by volunteers and after losing its council funding in 2011, has become completely reliant on the generosity of its supporters. The festival’s team of volunteers have already been busy running a series of fundraising drives to ensure the event goes ahead in 2015 including a ‘Save the Make Merry’ campaign and a children’s Xmas party.

Make sure you do your bit by joining our campaign, help Save the Make Merry.

Following the success of the last Plumstead Make Merry ‘Bring and Buy’ sale (pictured right), another one is being held at the next Plumstead Community Market on Saturday 13 December, 11am-3pm.

Once again, we are in need of your support and to help us raise much needed funds for next year’s festival, which marks our 40^th anniversary, we are looking for unwanted new/nearly new items to sell at our stall.

If you would like to donate some items, please either bring them to the market on the day or email info@plumsteadmakemerry.co.uk and we will arrange collection beforehand.

Alternatively, you can show your support by turning up on the day and picking up a bargain at our stall. The Plumstead Community Market will be held at St Mark with St Margaret Church Hall, Old Mill Road, London, SE18 1QE.To find out more and register your interest in attending, please visit our Make Merry ‘Bring & Buy’ Facebook event page.

The Plumstead Make Merry Association would like to say a special thanks to the Plumstead Community Market for allowing us to have stall space.

 

*Picture courtesy of Chris Mansfield (Historic Woolwich)

 

The Plumstead Make Merry has won funding as part of Skipton Building Society’s Grassroot initiative.

304 community groups, clubs and organisations from across the UK were shortlisted based on the positive impact they make in the local community. 161 final winners were then chosen by a public vote.

Sarah Harper, Chair of the Plumstead Make Merry Committee, said: “This is fantastic news and we’re absolutely delighted to have won funding from the Skipton Building Society’s Grassroot initiative.

The Plumstead Make Merry is run entirely by volunteers who are incredibly passionate about the local community and since losing our council funding, it has become increasingly difficult to raise enough funds to continue running the festival.

I would like to say a big thank you to all our supporters and everybody who voted for us. We’re determined that next year’s festival will be the best one yet, especially as it marks our 40th anniversary”.

The Plumstead Make Merry is one 161 winners who will each receive £500.

Ho ho ho, the Plumstead Make Merry is hosting a children’s Christmas party!

Join us for fun and festivities on Sunday 21st December 2014 at Greenwich Rugby Football Club, The Pavilion on Plumstead Common.

Tickets cost £3 per child which includes meeting Santa, making food for his reindeers, biscuit decorating, a disco, party games and much more! No ticket is necessary for adults but donations are welcome with all money going towards funding the Plumstead Make Merry.

There will be four sessions running on the day: 12:30 to 1:30pm, 1:45 to 2:45pm, 3:15 to 4:15pm, and 4:30 to 5:30pm.

Parents/carers are asked to bring an unwanted toy in good condition to exchange for another from Santa.

Tickets are already being snapped up so make sure you don’t miss out by visiting our Facebook page.

To help raise much needed funds for next year’s festival, the Plumstead Make Merry is hosting a ‘Bring and Buy’ stall at the Plumstead Community Market on Saturday 8 November, 11am-3pm.

Please come along and show your support or donate your unwanted goods so we can make sure the Make Merry reaches its 40th anniversary in 2015.

If you have any new/nearly new goods including household items or toys that we could sell at our stall, please donate them by bringing them to the market. Alternatively, please email info@plumsteadmakemerry.co.uk and we will arrange collection beforehand.

The Plumstead Community Market will be held at St Mark with St Margaret Church Hall, Old Mill Road, London, SE18 1QE.

To find out more and register your interest in attending, please visit our Make Merry ‘Bring & Buy’ Facebook event page.

Are you part of a cultural, dance or music club? Would you like to be part of the Make Merry, showcase your skills and get others involved? Well, now’s your chance! To celebrate our diverse community, the Plumstead Make Merry is looking for local groups who would like to host workshops at next year’s festival.

Workshops can be held at any point during the festival and can be about anything from drama to belly dancing or learning a musical instrument. The aim is to have fun, get others involved and celebrate the different cultures in our local community.

If you’re interested or would like to find out more, please email info@plumsteadmakemerry.co.uk.