Brighton Festival: Sponsors
Brighton Festival is proud to have so many wonderful sponsors and patrons, here they talk about why they do it and what they are looking forward to
Corporate Sponsor – Ben Copper
Nutshell Construction, Ltd.
What made you decide to become a Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival sponsor?
We’re a Brighton company with family ties in Rottingdean going back to the 16th Century.
We’ve always enjoyed Festival events and with our business growing in the city and throughout Sussex we felt it was time to offer support and maybe prove that the fact we’re a construction company doesn’t preclude us entirely from a cultural life!
Is this your first year or have you been a sponsor before, and how are you getting involved?
Last year we dipped a toe in the water very much at the last minute…we enjoyed the experience, so this year, and very much guided by the development team, we are attending a lot of concerts and sponsoring the remarkable ‘Freeze’ event.
Can you see real benefits, in a business sense, from your involvement as a sponsor?
To be honest we don’t expect people to walk up to us and ask if we’ll build them a £5million house, but our involvement cements us (if you’ll excuse the pun) in the community and helps spread our message of being ethical as well as very efficient specialists in the construction industry throughout Sussex. The Festival audience ticks many boxes for us in this respect…and we’re enjoying the experience – that’s a plus!
Corporate Sponsor – Stephen Spears
Riverford Organic Farms
What made you decide to become a Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival sponsor?
I live in Hove and have run the Sussex business of Riverford for 7 years. We sell great tasting organic food through a veg box home delivery scheme. I wanted to promote our multi-award winning produce by supporting the Children’s Parade as it is a fantastic local event.
Is this your first year or have you been a sponsor before, and how are you getting involved?
This is my first year, and I am very excited to be involved. I will be leading the Children’s Parade with the other sponsors and will have stalls on New Road and Marine Parade showcasing Riverford organic produce, giving out free tasters and sharing some great children’s recipes to get them eating all our healthy fruit and veg!
Can you see real benefits, in a business sense, from your involvement as a sponsor?
I can definitely see the benefits. As a business we are very different to our competitors. We grow a lot of veg on our own farms, only supply pesticide free, high welfare organic produce and are very competitively priced. We already have hundreds of satisfied customers in Brighton & Hove and are hoping to share this message with even more families.
Patrons Circle Member – Gary Miller
What were your motivations for joining the Patrons Circle and what do you enjoy about being a patron?
I became a Gold Member a long time ago and was invited to an open rehearsal of a Hofesh Shechter work, and after seeing it I thought ‘well, if this is what you can get – this access to this sort of thing – then I’m in’. I enjoy the creative process; I run a small business and I’m a builder, so it’s really interesting to see something being constructed as opposed to just seeing the finished article.
What events are you looking forward to in this year’s Brighton Festival and how do you choose what you see?
I mostly go to see theatre and site-specific work; that often dictates what I book, although sometimes it’s a gut-thing too. I’m also getting a bit long in the tooth now, so I recognise good companies that come back every now and again and I tend to book three or four things a week.
Would you recommend being a Patron to others and why?
I didn’t consider myself as someone who’s that interested in the Arts, however, because my daughter wants to work in contemporary dance, I thought I’d get to know a little more about it. I’ve found it really interesting; something I’ve found surprising because I was always someone who didn’t see the point… but there you go, I’m a convert.
Patrons Circle Members –
Paul and Dee Bonett
What were your motivations for joining the Patrons Circle and what do you enjoy about being a patron?
It is great to support the Brighton Festival in a way which is both personal and reflects our SME status as a business. Of course, invitations to Patrons’ events are really interesting and rewarding for keeping us in touch with the latest Festival plans and activities.
What events are you looking forward to in this year’s Brighton Festival and how do you choose what you see?
We are really keen to see all the events we have booked, but if we have highlights we would say Squarepusher, Kate Tempest and Agnes Varda.
Would you recommend being a Patron to others and why?
Of course. Brighton and Hove and its residents all benefit from Brighton Festival in one way or another, even though some people take no active part in it. We love being actively involved and it works for small business owners and those with a passion for the arts.
