Proposal for Faust Lager’s involvement with the Charles Street Carnival and Festival, Cardiff, 1987

Disgrifiad

A five page typed A4 document titled 'Proposal for Faust Lager’s involvement with the Charles Street Carnival and Festival, through the publication and distribution of a booklet explaining the story of the Cardiff Giant. General Information on publicity for Charles Street Carnival and Festival.' The author is not identified but a leaflet for this Cardiff Giant exhibition was written by Allan Herbert.

The second page explains that:
“The Carnival is on 4 July and is a spring board for two weeks of community arts throughout Cardiff.”
“The association with The Cardiff Giant will mean that on Carnival Day, a tent will be erected with a full scale giant within. The presentation of the Cardiff Giant will be similar to that of the original back in 1869. This presentation will include a dramatic reproduction of the actual events, and shall be performed by children from various Cardiff schools.”
The proposal details how Faust lager and the Cardiff Mets, “a new American Football team in the Principality”, can become involved and “continue to educate the South Wales area to the fact that more than one American Football team play in the Principality”. It is proposed to produce and distribute 12,000 folded A2 broadsheets listing entertainers and times of performances throughout the day.

The third page describes a booklet the author wants to produce which, unlike the broadsheet, would exclusively advertise Faust Lager and Cardiff Mets American Football Club. It is suggested that 5000 copies would be distributed to “leisure centres and more sport oriented venues”. Publicity for the Carnival and Festival would “be extensive” and include an interview on BBC Wales’s AM Programme, a second BBC item focusing on the Cardiff Giant, local press, HTV and “other publicity with Cardiff Bus, Newport Bus (number 30), Taff/Ely Transport for the valleys (we at the Foundation believing that involvement throughout the South Wales area is vital).”

The fourth page details costs for the Cardiff Giant Project. These include artist fees (£360) for six sessions in schools (presumably for the presentation by school-children) and the making of the Cardiff Giant; also materials (£150), and publication and distribution of the booklet (£440). Faust lager are asked to provide this £950.

The last page details accounts for the 11th Cardiff Street Carnival and Festival of Community Arts.
Expenses (£4,900) include artists’ expenses, publicity, miscellaneous (PA & equipment hire, security, insurance, etc.), pre-carnival expenses and the Cardiff Giant booklet.
Income (£3950) will come from stallholders, advertisers, South East Wales Arts Association, South Glamorgan County Council, Urban Programme Play scheme, Welsh Tourist Board, Business Sponsorship and Cardiff City Council. This leaves a deficit of £950 to be covered by Faust Lager.

The Cardiff Giant was a well-known hoax. It was a gypsum model over ten foot tall that was buried and then ‘discovered’ at a farm outside of the hamlet of Cardiff in New York State, USA. Even though it was exposed as a hoax, it was displayed in a museum in New York City “in time to capitalise on the Christmas shopping crowds”. Terry Chinn thought it would be fun to recreate the hoax for the Charles Street Festival in Cardiff, Wales. Apparently many people believed that the genuine story of the hoax was itself a hoax!

In June 1977, Cardiff Community Concern started the Charles Street Carnival as a community groups' alternative celebration of the Queen's Silver Jubilee. This became an annual event and grew into a separate organisation, Charles Street Arts Foundation. The Foundation came to employ artists and staff but was founded and run by volunteers. Cardiff Community Concern, also founded and run by volunteers, was an alternative advice and information centre for young people, based at 58 Charles Street. Both organisations were founded by Ian Horsburgh.

Glamorgan Archives, D20/4
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