International Animal Rights Festival
7th April 2002 - Astoria London
7th April 2002 - Astoria London
In Memory of Barry Horne
Proceeds from Festival went to the Barry Horne Memorial Fund, a lasting legacy to Barry's bravery and committment to the Animal Rights cause, to be distributed to various areas of A/R.
The Festival ran from noon to midnight with various acts, speakers and film shows throughout the day, and A/R stalls from various campaigning groups.
Artists donated their time free of charge. The Astoria was filled with 2000 people coming together firstly to remember Barry and most importantly of all, the animals he died for. It was a chance for people from all around the world to come together as a unified force and to leave with renewed vigor in fighting animal abuse.
Review from http://www.londonpunks.co.uk/arkangel_interview.htm
LondonPunks: "You were very much involved in the organisation of the gathering of the thousands gig at the Astoria last April. How successful was this gig?"
Rob - Arkangel editor: "I think lasts years 'Gathering' was very successful for a number of reasons, firstly it generated money for the memorial fund which in turn was able to give financial support to grassroots organisations on fighting on the front line.
"An important role of the 'Gathering' was to provide as much information as possible to newcomers to Animal Rights issues; literature was available from a number of stallholders representing various key AR organisations, keen to answer any questions put to them; great vegan food was supplied by Veggies of Nottingham and I think most importantly, images and film projected onto a giant screen on stage throughout the day demonstrated exactly what we are up against as we try to put an end to all forms of animal abuse, be it hunting, vivisection or the meat industry. This was an extremely graphic and effective way of getting the message across to the crowds present. The idea was to present the shocking facts - thereafter, its upto the individual to act on the information he/she has received.
"I for one know of 3 people who left the Astoria that evening vowing never to eat meat again, and to me that's a success - that was what the day was about - opening peoples minds and giving a choice to make an informed decision."
More info about some of the bands may be available at http://www.londonpunks.co.uk