Glastonbury Festival might take a whole year to organise, but Hanham’s CatFest came together in just four months.
When Catherine Garland’s friends Katie Sperring, Emma Finn and Sarah Smyth heard the devastating news that Cat’s cancer had returned, they pulled out all the stops to raise money to send Cat, 46, on the trip of a lifetime with her family – raising almost £35,000 in the process.
It was only April, when Cat, who lives in Kingswood with son Parker and husband Stu, was told her breast cancer was back. She had always wanted to visit her brother in California and to combine this with a family trip to Disneyland. So one evening, her friends decided to hold a music festival to raise the money and, just like that, CatFest was born.
Katie said: “Emma and her husband Dan suggested we have a fundraiser for Cat with a bit of live music. And then me and Sarah said for a joke that we could have things like wristbands, bunting and decorations, like at Glastonbury, and call it CatFest.”
About 300 people attended the all-day event on August 17. CatFest included a kids’ colour run, a Meat Loaf tribute act called Meat Loud, an Elvis impersonator in the form of Dick from Wick, as well as live music from local band Junction 19 and a DJ set from Ash Belsten. Katie’s husband Dan Sperring is the vice-chair at Hanham Athletic FC, so he helped secure the venue free of charge. And there was a friendly football match at the festival, with former players from Hanham AFC and AFC Flowerpot in Kingswood coming out of retirement to join in. Cat’s son Parker also joined the team and was crowned Man of the Match.
Katie, Emma and Sarah thank businesses are P31 Carpentry, JB Comms, Total Access, Stringer Construct, Atomic Signs, Bright Evolve and Henlie Group, for their support as well as. Shield Service, whose chairman Luke House offered to match fund the first £10,000 raised.
To contribute to the fund, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/catherine-cat-garland-catfest
By Jane Williams