The Cheese and Grain is celebrating its 20th Anniversary this year and as well as a series of special anniversary events throughout the year, the centre is launching a huge fundraising appeal.
The Cheese & Grain has made continuous improvements over the years and made national headlines last year with a secret FooFighters concert. Sell-out shows recently include Jason Manford, Ed Byrne, SClub and 5ive, The Selector and the Beat, Ruby Wax and Martin Kemp.
The Frome venue is a registered charity and a not- for-profit social enterprise and receives no grants or funding to assist with the ever-increasing running costs.
It also plays host to community education classes, free Wednesday live music sessions, charity bingo, markets, roller discos and community gatherings.
“Venues like ours that are totally independent and not owned by groups such as O2 are becoming rarer and closing at an alarming rate,” explains Tracey Rawlins, marketing manager.
“It’s fantastic that we are moving forward and increasing our events, diversifying what we programme so we can keep going! We employ 50 staff now and we’re open every day, so costs mount up. Now, sadly, our heating system needs replacing and we are desperate for air conditioning, so we need help. The timing isn’t great either as our PA system has also come to the end of its life, so we also need to replace that.
“We have launched an appeal to our patrons to help us.”
There will be bucket collections after every show. Donations can also be made via www.cheeseandgrain.com
