©THE THEATRICAL GUILD 2011/12
FRIDAY 22ND. TO MONDAY 25TH. JUNE 2012
The First Night Riders is the name for the annual motorcycle charity ride that raises money for The Theatrical Guild, the only charity dedicated to looking after the interests of backstage and Front of House personnel. www.ttg.org.uk The first ride took place in June 2010 and the route took in a round Britain tour of new, interesting and historically significant theatres the start was the National Theatre and the ride finished at Hampstead. See the 2010 photo page for the highlights.
In June 2011 we followed a similar format and included the Isle of Man TT course on our middle England route. See the 2011 photo page.
The 2012 ride is a four day event and is open to anyone with a suitable motorcycle,
bike and side-
Vehicles should have at least a 100 mile range to minimise fuel stops. Each rider should aim to raise at least £500 in donations to the TTG of which £100 is a non refundable registration fee. The event is also open to riders on a daily basis as not everyone will have the time for the full trip. The day rate is £125 of which £25 is a non refundable registration fee.
You can join online by email on the JOIN US PAGE
Pillion riders and passengers are encouraged to make donations but do not have to register unless they want to.
Each participant will be responsible for their own, petrol, food and accommodation costs, however we negotiate group discounts and special deals to minimise the expenditure. A number of the places we are visiting and our sponsor companies will provide some hospitality and assistance along the way. See our sponsor’s page for the current listing.
There will be at least one official chase vehicle taking part to follow the ride. The chase vehicle is important, it can carry water for the riders at fuel stops hopefully it will be sunny this time! it also carries the luggage you don’t need during the day.
This event takes its inspiration from the Long Reach Long Riders American charity ride which over the course of eight annual trips has now raised over $250,000 USD for two charities, Broadway cares/Equity Fights AIDS and Behind the Scenes.
Essentially this is a road trip by technicians, actors and supporters in aid of theatre technicians and FOH personnel. Visiting interesting theatres and meeting techies at each venue is a win win situation for a very worthy cause; the TTG is 120 years old in 2011 for more information about the TTG use the link above or click the TTG logo. The First Night riders is organised by a group of people headed by Brenda and David Edelstein, see the contacts page.