Pink fever hits festivals at the Isle of Wight

8/24/2011 8:38 AM EST

Press Release

For immediate release: Wednesday 24 August 2011
Press contact: Marilena Patuto, Media Relations Officer, DD 0207 749 3720, Email:  

Pink fever hits festivals at the Isle of Wight

Festivals on the Isle of Wight last weekend were flushed with pink as local volunteers gathered to mark the return of the Isle of Pink this September.

A team of Breast Cancer Campaign supporters attended the Garlic and V-dub festivals on Saturday 20 August to launch the return of the pink-filled fundraising month, which for the fourth year running will be helping the charity raise money to fund research into the disease.

The group made pink the main colour of the day by setting up stalls at the festivals, collecting the first donations for the campaign and spreading the word about the Isle of Pink to festival goers. The pink campervans at the V-dub festival grabbed the attention of passers-by, and the large pink crowd at the Garlic festival helped rally support for the pink crusade which is due to hit the Isle of Wight next week.

There will be plenty of activities taking place throughout the month including supermarket collections, a Pink Day at the Zoo, a Quiz Night and fundraising stalls at many events and festivals, including Bestival. There will also be two fitness challenges people can take part in; a two hour aerobics session and an all new cycling event.

Lauren Baskett, Breast Cancer Campaign’s Community Development Manager, said: “Thanks to all the support of local residents and businesses, over the past three years the Isle of Pink has raised over £70,000 for Breast Cancer Campaign. We hope that this year’s event will be bigger and better than ever and urge everyone to get involved in an activity or event to help us beat breast cancer.”

To find out more about how you can get involved in the Isle of Pink or to sign up for one of the fitness challenges please visit www.breastcancercampaign.org/isleofpink. If you need more information you can also call Breast Cancer Campaign on 020 749 4114 or email  

ENDS

Photograph: Volunteers at the V-Dub festival spell out 'pink'
Photograph: Supporters at the Garlic Festival hold banner announcing Isle of Pink is returning

Notes to editors
• Breast Cancer Campaign aims to beat breast cancer by funding innovative world-class research to understand how breast cancer develops, leading to improved diagnosis, treatment, prevention and cure
• The charity currently funds 95 projects worth almost £16.5 million in 31 locations across the UK and Ireland
• Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK and accounts for nearly one in three of all cancers in women
• In the UK, around 48,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed each year - that’s 130 a day
• The Breast Cancer Campaign Tissue Bank, the UK’s first ever national breast cancer tissue bank is a unique collaboration with four leading research institutions to create a vital resource of breast cancer tissue for researchers across the UK and Ireland. Visit breastcancertissuebank.org
• Visit breastcancercampaign.org or follow us at twitter.com/bccampaign