Back to the 90s - Future of Taru City Cruises Fundraiser

All aboard! Dust off your bucket hats and lace up your Dr Martens - it's time to rewind to the decade of Cool Britannia!

EVENT SUMMARY:

• Date: Friday, 10th April 2026
• Time: 6:45pm to 10pm (3 hour cruise from 7pm to 10pm).
• Vibe: 90s Britpop, Indie, & Nostalgic Hits
• Impact: Supporting 10 student sponsorships at the Future of Taru School in Kenya

The Future of Taru proudly present their fourth ever music fundraiser, brought to you once again aboard the River Palace, one of City Cruises York's fleet of private hire boats!

The Future of Taru is a small UK Registered Charity providing a school, quality education, a feeding program, emotional support and a safe environment for many of the poor children in Taru, Kenya.

Tickets are priced at £15 per person, which more than covers the cost to sponsor a Future of Taru pupil to attend school for one month, covering their school fees and providing them with clean drinking water and two meals a day whilst at school. Our last event in 2025 raised enough money to sponsor 10 of the pupils (including those sponsored last year who have not since graduated) to attend school for one year, and if all tickets for this latest fundraiser are sold then this will pay for 10 children to attend school for the remainder of 2026. Plus any additional monies raised with the raffle on the night will be donated straight into the charity towards the ongoing development of the school's facilities.

Tickets for the raffle will be available to purchase throughout the evening and a host of amazing prizes to be won!

ABOUT THE EVENT:

For our first music fundraiser of 2026, your DJs will be taking you back to the 90s, with 3 hours of Britpop, Indie, Pop-Punk, and no doubt a few guilty pleasures thrown in for good measure.

Your DJs on the night will be Simon Taylor, who DJ'd across York in the 90s and 00s including aboard City Cruises' fleet for hundreds of Private events and Party Night cruises, is the owner of Taylor's of Acomb and is also the curator of Thorn Waterside Music Festival. Joining Si will be our Trustee and Event Organiser Mark Mattinson.

ABOUT THE VENUE:

The River Palace is one of City Cruises York's largest passenger boats.

It has a large enclosed saloon with dancefloor where the music will be playing throughout the cruise. There will be some unreserved seating in the saloon and plenty of room to dance the night away. There is a fully licensed bar, toilets, and then an open top deck where smoking and vaping is permitted.

Boarding will commence at 6:45pm at the Lendal Bridge mooring. Please aim to arrive no later than 6:45pm.

The River Palace will sail at 7pm prompt.

We will then dock back at the Lendal Bridge mooring at 10pm.

ABOUT THE FUTURE OF TARU:

The Future of Taru charity was started by Paul Moffatt from Carlisle and his wife Eunice who is from Kenya. They began by building a primary school which opened with around 20 children under 10 years ago. The charity has grown significantly in recent years, and now includes a Secondary school, and across the 2 schools there are around 460 pupils, around 225 of whom are sponsored.

Paul says “All of our children are living in poverty. As well as providing protection from the dangers of the streets, our Charity ensures local children receive a quality education and food every day in a happy and open environment, transforming their lives and giving them hope for a better future while supporting their families to make life progress.

Together with the fantastic backing of a growing number of sponsors and supporters, and with the skills and enthusiasm of our dedicated Board of volunteer Trustees, we work together to govern and develop the Charity to ensure the work we do and the goals of the organisation are in line with our vision, mission and values.

In supporting Future of Taru, you are helping to make a difference to the lives of Kenyan children living in poverty.”

You can find out more about the Future of Taru here: https://www.futureoftaru.org/
Registered Charity number: 1184640