Harmony and Handmade Showdown

The Harmony & Handmade Showdown, due to be held at the Kettering Arts Centre on Saturday 17 October, is a fundraising/community event in the style of Kettering Soup but on a much bigger scale. 21 local community groups will benefit to a greater or lesser extent. 

The event is being jointly hosted by a group called Discover Craft and ourselves. The majority of the work to prepare for the event has been done by three members of Discover Craft who are a not-for-profit group based in Corby but active across the whole of North Northamptonshire.  We were invited to co-host it mainly because of our history of running Kettering Soup.  Discover Craft won it a few years ago.  They also needed our experience of managing the financial side of the event including providing public liability insurance. 

The event will be in two parts.  The afternoon (“Handmade”) part will be a competition between 12 crafters, split into 4 separate categories, who will each display a selection of their handiwork. The winner of each category will be decided by a judge with input from the paying public.  The evening (“Harmony”) part will be a talent show for 9 vocalists - mostly singers but at least one poetry reader.  The three winners will be decided by a panel of judges, led by the Deputy Mayor of Kettering, Cllr. Andy Byatt. Ben Jameson (in his capacity as a member of Kettering Huxloe) will be the MC.

Each of the 21 competitors will be representing one of the 21 listed beneficiaries.  They were paired together following a draw held a couple of weeks ago.

Every beneficiary will receive a modest cash prize but the beneficiaries represented by the various winners will receive larger cash prizes.

The size of the prize money pot will be largely determined by how many people attend the event. Tickets for the afternoon part will cost £5 (which will include a bowl of soup and a roll) and for the evening part £10. People can either buy tickets online via the Arts Centre’s website or at the door.   All the competitors and their supporters will be expected to pay and it is thought most of the beneficiaries will also have people attending.