Monday June 17th 2024
Music in the Community's team at the event on Saturday 8th June
Written by Midlothian View reporter, Liam Eunson.
Four Square Park Café is one of the Edinburgh-based charity,Four Square’s fundraising ventures. The café located in Saughton Park offers a good day out, at a reasonable price in the knowledge that you are supporting passion to prevent homelessness.
The café is located in the scenic Saughton Park, in the heart of Gorgie. The fundraising opportunity opened in October of 2023 and after a rough winter, the café is starting to stand on its own legs.
I spoke to Four Square’s Chief Executive, Jane Devine, about the charity’s beloved café.
“We opened in October, and it’s been a long, hard, wet winter. But it’s really taken off now which is great”.
“It was a different company that was the operator in the beginning but in February 2023 they went into receivership, so I approached the council and asked if we could take it on and they said it wasn’t that easy, but actually it is”.
Four Square started in 1982 to support homelessness in Edinburgh and in the last 40 years the charity has evolved into an organisation that supports anyone that’s homeless or at risk of becoming homeless with specific interest in the younger population between the ages of 16 to 25. From supporting the youth in need to helping out at women’s refuges, Four Square has used it’s £1.3 million turn over from their second-hand furniture store to provide subsidised food and drink at their park café to the community of Gorgie.
“That’s why we expanded into the café as well, not just for the training and fundraising opportunities but because it’s part of the community”.
Four Square transformed the café that previously went into receivership into a key part of the community. The café has begun hosting live music events alongside Music in the Community every Saturday night, filling out the café and pavilion, serving meals and drinks.
Music in the Community is an organisation supporting up-and coming music artists within Edinburgh. They have begun supporting Four Square, hosting live music in the small intimate café environment every two weeks.
Having different music artists of different genres play every two weeks, the Saturday night-out at Four Square Park Café has become a popular attraction for locals in Edinburgh, all supporting Four Square’s beloved cause.
“Our first partnership to do promotions is with Music in the Community and that makes sense as they have the same ethos as us, all about helping people to overcome barriers”, Jane Devine told me during Music in the Community’s event on Saturday the 8th of June.
Music in the Community provides Four Square Park Café with entertainment every second Saturday bringing in a couple of act’s from their team of over 100 artists.
Supported by Creative Scotland, Music in the Community have developed a strong relationship with Four Square working together to both support the cause of homelessness and provide entertainment to the community.
Music in the Community’s Social Media Specialist explained Larisa Ilin, “We started outside the café in the park when the café was closed last summer, we had hundreds of people coming to the event’s. Then winter came and we needed an indoor event. That’s when the charity reached out and they were very open to host us”.
For Four Square’s first venture outside of homelessness services, the Music in the Community night has become a big success. On my visit on Saturday the 8 th of June the two organisations put on a great event filling out the café. If you are looking a great nigh out head down to Four Square Park Café next Saturday to support homelessness, have great food and drink and hear some high-quality music.
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