Shrewsbury music and wellbeing festival teams up with cancer charity to support fundraising
A Shrewsbury music and wellbeing festival is teaming up with a Shropshire cancer charity to raise money.
September will mark the fourth anniversary of the Shrewsbury-based Heal Festival, an event dedicated to wellbeing and community, and this year organisers have chosen to partner with Lingen Davies Cancer Support.
What began in 2021 to unite people in the midst of the pandemic has continued to grow and its founders Leroy McKoy and Dene Edwards are committed to delivering another crowd-pleaser, as well as shaping a powerful legacy.
After being diagnosed with colon cancer in 2005 Leroy, from Telford, is now undergoing chemotherapy treatment at the Lingen Davies Cancer Centre at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.
Along with his business partner Dene, Leroy chose to use this year’s Heal Festival to fundraise for the Lingen Davies charity, and highlight the long-running organisation’s cancer awareness and prevention work.
From Friday to Sunday, September 19 to 21, the Showground in Shrewsbury will feature several stages and arenas offering musical acts, including The Fratellis, Tom Meighan, and The Sherlocks.
A dedicated wellbeing village with range of holistic therapies, street food zone, Caribbean-inspired area, fairground attractions, games, and more are also on offer.
Promoter and founder, Leroy, said he is eager to build on the success of previous events to attract new audiences to the festival.
“Heal was born during lockdown as a way of bringing people together through music and healing community rifts. It was created to be a pop-up and a movement, we can take it from town to town and use it to promote wellbeing, the power of healthy eating and living,” he said.
“It’s an authentic, therapeutic event that celebrates the power of language and music. I’ve planted lots of seeds in my life to bring communities together, this one has huge potential,” he added.
Jonathan Wood, fundraiser for Lingen Davies, said the charity is proud to be partnering with a visionary, purposeful event.
“We were pleased to be approached by Leroy and Dene who have such a powerful message to share. This event is about bringing the community together to enjoy music, activities, good food, and shared passions, while raising awareness about the work Lingen Davies is doing to prevent cancer in the wider community.
“Not only will we be fundraising to support our ambitious work, but our LiveLife Cancer Awareness team will be on hand to dispense free suncream, share information about the signs and symptoms of cancer, and talk to anyone who has health related concerns.
“The Heal Festival is a unique event in its purpose and we’re keen to help the team make it another roaring success.”
Tickets can be purchased via the festival website.
