Rockin’ Roadrunner club gets ready for virtual festival this weekend

The Rockin’ Roadrunner club will be holding an online virtual festival this weekend after the coronavirus meant their annual event could not take place as usual.

Sunday would have marked the ninth festival for the group, which organises live music events for adults with disabilities.

In previous years, it has been held at Abington Park in Northampton, however, this Sunday it will take place online.

Project manager Maria Hardy said she was disappointed the festival could not take place as usual, but she was looking forward to the ‘virtual’ version.

She said: “As such a unique and popular event it was a hard call, but safety has to come first of course.

“We wanted to be able to offer the same opportunities for performing as much as possible and so thought we’d try this online.

“We’re very lucky to have been supported by Northampton Community Foundation and Big Lottery to make this happen.”

Mrs Hardy and the organisers of the event hope to translate as much of the original festival online as they can.

There will be a mixture of pre-recorded and live performances throughout the afternoon streamed via the group’s website.

Mrs Hardy said: “There’s been so much interest and are still performances coming in.

“What I can confirm is that we have Mark Dean from Inspiration FM comparing as always along with Roadrunner resident DJs.

“We’ve got a live, socially distanced, band - Roadrunner regulars Similar Jones.

“There’s going to be lots of performances, singing, dancing from disability groups as well as a few Roadrunner faces and even a few celebrity appearances.

“There is also lots of information and films from local disability organisations.”

Rockin’ Roadrunner is a charity which holds live music events for people with disabilities, their families, carers and friends. Its quarterly events are held at Northampton’s Roadmender.

Mrs Hardy said: “Roadrunner is really important to our community as it brings lots of opportunities for many people and organisations.

“There really isn’t any other event like the festival. It brings together performances, information, fun, games and activities in a safe, friendly environment.

“It’s free and fully inclusive. We may have been thrown a curve ball but the Roadrunner ain’t stoppin’ Rockin’ yet.”

The Rockin Roadrunner Festival is on Sunday, September 20, with performances are from 1pm.

For more details, visit www.rockinroadrunner.com