.:VARIOUS:.
03/11/2009: Metal Against Child Cancer, a Metal festival supporting the Child Cancer FundToday a press conference was held by MACC mainman Brecht Debrouwere to present the Metal Against Child Cancer festival, which will take place in Deerlijk, Belgium, on the 5th of December 2009. The chosen venue is De Wieke and the first of six bands will hit the stage at 18h00. Considering this is the first edition of the festival, the number of bands has been kept low and that also counts for the entry price (6 EUR). The main reasons for this are: attracting as many Metalheads as possible by offering a diverse bill and considering the youth has to make choices what to spend money on, it was said that their budget still needed room for drinks.
The reason for choosing De Wieke can be taken from different elements:
- mainman Brecht Debrouwere is from Deerlijk
- the manager of the Child Cancer Fund is from Deerlijk
- Brecht got the support from the mayor
- it's a safe bet for a first edition of this festival. The venue can hold up to 500 people, but with the stands, P.A., stage, etc... installed this number is reduced to about 250. This gives the impression lots of people were there. If the festival would take place in a bigger venue, and not many people would show up, it would be a disaster for both bands and organisation. If MACC 2009 is a hit, the festival will move to a bigger location next year.
MACC stands for Metal Against Child Cancer and the main reason for the existence of this festival is because Brecht Debrouwere has had cancer himself, testical cancer. Having seen his son while at the hospital made him think it could happen to his son, too. Usually it's big TV-stations and famous people that organise/put their shoulders under a project for, or rather against, child cancer. Hence the positive behaviour of the people of the Child Cancer Fund (www.kinderkankerfonds.be), especially that of Kathleen Maelput, seeing someone not from the mainstream domain. The CCF is entirely dependant of donations from people, companies, and others. Brecht, or rather MACC, made an agreement with the CCF to donate all the profits of the festival to them, after having substracted the costs for the bands, electricity, drinks and other things. Or in short, Brecht and co. will have nothing left over for themselves. You can check out the agreement on the festival's website: www.maccfest.be.
Metal is usually regarded as heavy, pounding, screaming, drinking, fighting, and whatever more. That's true to a certain extent, but not every Metalhead is like that. And to show the good side of Metal, setting up a festival to support this cause (against child cancer) was an excellent idea. And to make sure that the money is indeed going to the CCF, everything was put on paper to avoid one of the partners accusing another of saving for his own pocket. Most money is planned to come from ticket sales and drinks.
Brecht is assisted by four other people (Yoerik Neirinck, Wim Van Riet, Nick Vermote), including his wife (Saska Deruytere). He personally contacted and visited the several sponsors, be them the mayor or the companies that happily agreed to donate the necessary funds for this festival. Bands were mainly contacted via e-mail and several happily obliged, though for some it took serious negotiations, as they asked prices ranging between 600 EUR and 800 EUR. The most expensive band then agreed to significantly lower its price. With the initiative in mind, some bands even offered to play for free.
As is necessary with events that gather large crowds, security will be present. It will be done by people who have acquired the necessary experience at festivals like Graspop Metal Meeting. This is to avoid people under the influence of booz, drugs or having a quarrel disturbing the atmosphere inside. They'll be obliged to deal with it outside. The Youth Red Cross will also be there, in case people get injured or faint or anything else. Food will come from the KSA, a youth organisation, who have acquired the material from Harry, famed in Deerlijk and around for his fries/chips. He left the business some time ago.
The graphical design of the poster and MACC logo were done, for free, by Asje from CEREMONY OF OPPOSITES, who are also playing at the festival. Brecht offered to pay for her work, but she insisted on doing it for free. Again, keeping the goal in mind. The logo has been registered and represents on one hand a skull, for the link with Metal, and angel wings, as sign of hope. Hope for the patients to recover from their cancer, just like Brecht did.
For 2010 three bands have been booked, but in case the first edition isn't successful, Brecht can still contact those bands to say 2010 is cancelled. The brainstorming for MACC commenced in 2008 with a first edition about one year later. The same procedure has thus been applied for 2010. Let's hope things do go smoothly and many editions may follow.
Unfortunately not many press people were present at this conference, but some questions were asked to gain more knowledge about the how, why, who, where:
Q: Was it easy to convince the sponsors for this project? And did you contact them personally?
A: Yep, especially the CCF element played a key role. One person said I was the third asking for funds. she said she couldn't do it for every person that asks for it. Her husband countered it, referring to their children, which made her give in. I personally went to the people and companies, to make sure they know who they're dealing with and that their money will be well spent. They received a brochure with the required info and a copy of the arrangement with the CCF. They can also verify everything with the CCF if needed. And that's something they appreciated.
Q: Since you're working in group, do you have meetings now and then? (question from a colleague from Het Laatste Nieuws)
A: We do and we'll come together again towards the end of October. They are held at De Sneppe, at the local bar. The transfer of the money will take place on the 19th of December.
As a recap, the important details regarding the first edition of the Metal Against Child Cancer festival:
Date: 5th of December 2009
Doors: 17h00
Start: 18h00
Location: De Wieke, Wiekeplein 1, 8540 Deerlijk (Belgium)
Tickets: 6 EUR, reservation is possible through the website
Funding: sponsoring. Each sponsor is mentioned on the website and MySpace of the project. 50 EUR equals appearance on the poster, 150 EUR and more gives the sponsor the right to place or hang company panels or flags on the premises.
People/companies/organisations who would like to sponsor can do so by paying in cash or transferring the money to the account number 738-0266955-33 with the following communication: sponsoring MACC 2009.
Website: www.maccfest.be and www.myspace.com/maccfest
The goal of MACC is to have an annual festival, but that depends on whether or not all costs can be covered, the bands are willing to support this initiative, the visitors/crowd are willing to come each year and so on. It is said in the press text that the organisers want to keep the festival in Deerlijk - a nobel cause, as nothing much happens in this town with regards to Metal -, but if it turns out to be a success, a bigger location will be needed and that will mean moving to another town. But that's speculation, as the first edition still needs to take place. MACC 2009, something you can't go wrong with. A diverse bill with good bands, a very low ticket price and a worthy cause behind it.