After 25 years of ‘Paniking’, Lakeland’s infamous folk band are holding one last hurrah before they bid farewell to their fans.   

Once described by the Westmorland Gazette as “Lakeland’s Fantastic Funny Folk Band”, PaNiKaTaK have dedicated a quarter of a century to raising money for charity. However, they have decided that the time has come to hang up their instruments.

From humble beginnings as a “scratch” folk trio, Dr Birkett and the Menopause formed to fundraise for The Lakes School Parent Teachers’ Association.

Since then they have grown not only in number but also popularity and have raised in excess of £75,000 for a variety of, mainly local, charities. Their causes vary from Cancer Care, funding new toilets for village halls and equipment for the First Responders, to sending a cow to Africa and everything in between. They even remember raising funds to send a local scout to South America – although no one can recall ever bringing him back.

Their music has taken them to all corners of the county and further afield, from the Matchmaking Festival in Lisdoonvarna, Ireland to a W.I. gathering in Saltburn and a celebration event in the Brecon Beacons to mark the end of ‘Foot and Mouth’.

But all good things must come to an end, although not without a final hurrah and one last flurry of ‘Fun, Folk and Fundraising’. The Paniks are holding a farewell performance on Saturday 5 May inviting friends, old and new, to turn out in their hoards to celebrate their final curtain fall.

The band plan to bow out in very the place where it all began, at The Lakes School in Windermere, thus completing the most ‘joined-up’ manoeuvre of their career. In true PaNiKaTaK style, the event will be fundraising for three fantastic local causes, the Ambleside Parish Centre, Friends of Windermere 597 Bus Service and Ambleside and Kirkstone Rotary Club supporting Rosemere Foundation.

PaNiKaTaK’s Farewell Performance will take place on Saturday 5 May, at 7.30pm at The Lakes School in Windermere LA23 1HW
Tickets £10 available at www.jumblebee.co.uk/panikover