Shake Rattle n' Roll

Phew! Friday night at Shakespeares was a busy one! Our charity night, Shake Rattle n' Roll in aid of St Lukes Hospice went well, and was definitely a success overall! It's the first time we've ever had a charity night since it opened in June 2011,and we've never organised such a big event, with so much going on! Chris (my boyfriend, manager of Shakespeares and main event organiser) was definitely nervous in the morning, but also had a great time!

 

After an afternoon spent setting up the raffle table with all the fabulous goodies, including many from local Sheffield crafters and local business who kindly donated, setting up various games including hoopla, pin the tail on the donkey and hook a duck 5 O Clock quickly arrived, and with it the start of the event.

 

It began a bit slowly, the usual after work crowd was in but there wasn't lots to do as only a few people had a go on the games (manned by Martin, Jo and Charlotte), giving Kaisha (bar girl and event organiser and I time to glam up in the toilets before the event gained in custom.

 

Before long the pub began filling up, and I was suddenly in the darts tournament run by one of our friends, Patrick, against Charlotte (bar Girl and Event Organiser) and Martin (event helper). Despite the fact I regularly play darts (albeit badly) with Martin, we both lost to novice player Charlotte.

 

After a delicious pizza from PizzaSmiths, who had set up in the old Stable in the garden, washed down by a fantastic pint of Shake Rattle n' Roll ale, brewed by us in conjunction with Blue Bee Brewery (10p a pint was donated), it was time for raffle ticket selling and selling entries for a prize draw for a beautiful vintage style beret by Gilboa for the Lady. Kaisha and I were on to a winner, then I carried on alone as she disappeared to the function room with a charity collection bucket to collect donations during the gigs.

 

I didn't get to see any of the music, but Chris (and the many people who came to see the bands) did. The Mother Folkers, described as 'the unstoppable folk machine' kicked the night off. They were followed by Rita Payne, a talented folk duo. Up and coming indie rockers, The Lion Works were the next act on stage. Check their Guardian acclaimed new EP. Blues Duo The Blackbirds encouraged plenty of foot thumping with their modernised Blues music. They even kindly donated a CD as a raffle prize on the night! Headliners The Hosts packed out the function room with their soulful Rock n' Roll and a touch of class. They have even played in the Devils Arse! (Peak Cliff Cavern).

 

As if all that wasn't enough we managed to squeeze in an art auction between bands, featuring work by local artists such as Martin F. Bedford (who also kindly designed our poster for free!) and Geo Law. Then, to top it all of was the act I was looking forward to most, (and which I most definitely did not want to miss) A burlesque show by the talented ladies of Secrets of the Boudoir. It was my first experience of Burlesque and it was sexy and seductive, a bit of female empowering fun, and I loved it! I even got 'Burlesqued' - one of the ladies 'noosed' me with some of her feather accessories! many of the acts were novices too, (Secrets of the Boudoir run a class on Tuesday's at Shakespeares and many of the ladies had completed the last course the next one starts soon). It was fabulous and I am even considering giving it a go, especially as the ladies were all sizes, so I'd feel less self conscious about by lumpy bits!

Burlesque Dancers with The Hosts - Photo courtesy of The Hosts

 

 

 

All in all, the night was a success, and while we would do a few things differently next time, we all enjoyed it and all of the organisers and helpers made it a huge success!

 

We raised £701.89 through collections, stalls, and raffle tickets. The art auction raised a further £198.99 and £91 through sales of Shake Rattle n' Roll beer. That gives a total of a massive £991.88 raised, plus the money in a collection jar (St Lukes have to count it - we don't have access) we have raised just over

 

£1000

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