Olivia PowellThe Nottstopping Festival has been launched to help those in the Nottinghamshire come together and connect with others within their local community.
The event has been launched by Nottingham City Council, Creative Quarter, Nottingham BID, Marketing NG and Nottingham Culture Board with support from Inspire, One Nottingham, Young Creative Awards, BBC Nottingham, BBC Introducing, Confetti Media Group and Notts TV.
The two-day-long festival will take place completely virtually and will feature familiar faces and names from the worlds of TV, film, sport, music, art, theatre, dance and comedy.
The festival will be streamed in full at www.nottstoppingfestival.com. Local broadcaster Notts TV will also be presenting a special programme of activities over the weekend at www.nottstv.com and BBC Nottingham will be broadcasting a singalong at 2pm and dancelong at 7pm both days.
Nottstopping organiser Ben Welch said: “We’re on a mission to get the whole of Nottinghamshire involved in this spectacular weekend of entertainment to connect us all, so whether you want to sing, dance, paint, cook, sign, write, draw or create or give a shout out to your frontline hero, we have something for you.”
Working with Nottingham Playhouse, Nottstopping Festival is also inviting those in the care home sector to join in a county-wide Pack Up Your Troubles sing-along at 2pm on both days.
Pippa Foster, from Nottingham Community Housing Association, said: “This has been such a challenging time for our residents who have not been able to see their families for a while now. We know music has a way of reaching out and connecting people, so this is a lovely way for them to be part of this festival and share a moment with the wider community. We’ll be singing along!”
Nottstopping will also be asking people to nominate a frontline worker for the chance for them to receive a special gift, treat or experience being pledged by generous businesses across Nottinghamshire. To submit a nomination, post a short video on Nottstopping Festival social media saying why they are your frontline hero and hashtag #nottstoppingheroes.
The festival will be taking place from 23-24 May 2020. To donate to the Nottstopping GoFundMe, click here, and to get involved click here.