Fun in the Cosham sun as community comes together to support Ukraine

The Portsbridge pub basked in warm sunshine for the all-day fundraiser organised by musician Richard Palmer.

The event kicked off with a family fun day taking place from 12pm to 4pm before music in the evening as the Lord Mayor councillor Frank Jonas popped in.

A barbecue, a disco karaoke, an open mic show, a car wash, and face painting were among the activities in the day, while artists including Aztec Flowers, Marcus Tisson, and Alexandre Silva - and headline act EMiliYAH and The MightyZ All Stars - took to the stage to perform in the evening.

Exciting prizes for a fundraising raffle included a free haircut, £20 voucher for a games shop, and a breakfast at one of the local cafes.

Money raised went to support organisations helping Ukrainian people.

Richard said: ‘We wanted to get together as a community and raise funds for Ukraine. The way we could do that was by putting on an event in the afternoon and evening.

‘We spoke to the landlord at the Portsbridge pub and the next minute we’ve got this show on and everybody’s so excited about it. It is bringing Cosham together to support Ukraine.

‘There’s another event running in Bulgaria and we are supporting their charity which helps people from Ukraine into Bulgaria.’

General manager of the Portsbridge Roy Wolstenholme said: ‘We want to bring Cosham together to help raise money for Ukraine where a lot of people have had their life changed.’

Hollie Marsham, co-organiser, said: ‘It’s great to bring the community together to help Ukraine. There‘s so many fun things happening in Cosham and we want there to be a lot more.’

DJ Sonny Shaw, performance name Sonny-Jim, said: ‘People have been showing their love and support and making donations. Nearly all the businesses in Cosham have got involved in donating things for the raffle.’

Football team AC Copnor were on hand to offer a car washing service with money raised going to Ukraine.

Steve Hartill, chairman, said: ‘Players have been coming down to help wash cars and raise money for Ukraine. It’s gone really well and the weather has been lovely.’

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Paul Green, 38, was among those enjoying the day in Cosham. ‘The event is for a really good cause and there’s lots of fun things to do,’ he said.

Richard, who is the chairperson of the fledgling North Harbour Community Association, and has recently been awarded the role of Portsmouth Ambassador by Portsmouth City Council, also runs a record label that supports good causes.

He has composed, performed, produced, and released a song for Ukraine called ‘Unity’ to support the fundraising efforts, which can be heard at https://youtu.be/YrF7JCRAvvg.

A separate fundraising raffle with the top prize of a holiday to Bulgaria is also taking place, with the winner to be drawn on April 23.

This was donated by Nathan Fenn, an ex-pat who works as a volunteer providing support to refugees in Bulgaria.

The lucky winner will win a trip to a four-star resort for a week, worth about £500.

For more information about the event or the raffles, contact Richard at [email protected].

The fundraising page for the event can be found at gofundme.com/f/help-for-families-displaced-from-the-ukraine