'Incredible' 16-hour long event, Rave 4 Ukraine, in Southsea to raise 'important' funds for supplies to send to Ukraine

Ukrainian-born Olga Kravchenko and her partner Kriss Baird have teamed up with the Moonshine Club in Southsea, as well as a number of DJs, musicians and event organisers, to hold the Rave 4 Ukraine event on April 10.

The event, which will run from 9am on the Sunday until 3am on Monday morning at Moonshine and the Prohibition Club, will be split up into three ‘mini events’ and will include yoga in the morning, family-friendly activities such as a ‘baby rave’ in the afternoon and clubbing in the evening.

All profits will go towards the Portsmouth-based Parenting Network’s efforts to supply aid to the Ukrainian borders, along with humanitarian and medical aid organisation YOUKraine Foundation based in Odessa.

For Olga, 27, and Kriss, 39, the cause was one that was especially close to their hearts.

Olga’s mother Viktoriia and her grandmother Raisa were in their hometown of Kyiv when Russian forces invaded. They spent days underground the city before escaping to Budapest. Finally, on March 27 their UK visas were approved.

Virtual reality company founder Olga told The News: ‘I’m very grateful for the fact I was able to get my mum and grandma out of Ukraine. It wasn’t a very easy trip from Kyiv to Budapest, around 72 hours. There were huge queues on the border.

‘We had to sleep in the car after a 14 hour drive at a petrol station because there is literally nowhere to sleep.’

Kriss, who manages a blockchain company but also DJs outside of work, said: ‘Olga’s family are my family and they’re in their time of need. This is the most important thing to happen almost in our lifetime.

‘The genesis for Rave 4 Ukraine was how can we get people to connect to it and contribute to these charitable pursuits.’

DJs and artists performing at the event include Shadow Child, Ian Void and Soul Divide. Kriss will also be DJing as Purple People.

He added: ‘We want to make it a mega event that’s accessible and inclusive for everybody

‘We’ve been really bowled over by the support from everyone.

‘We’ve got an incredible line up. I’m sure we’re going to absolutely smash it.’

To get tickets visit fatsoma.com/e/ofh81wh1/rave-4-ukraine.

Local businesses that would like to donate prizes for the auction or raffle can contact [email protected]

Recipients of healthy start vouchers can get their Baby Rave tickets subsidised by Portsmouth Parenting Network, just get in touch on the email above.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

Subscribe here for unlimited access to all our coverage, including Pompey, for just 26p a day.