it's not a private party if they are asking for financial contributions; you don't normally ask people round to your gaff and charge them an entry fee.
sounds like a cop out for the cttee to say it is not on their behalf. they obviously go along with it, instigate it probably, while having this fiction agreed between them that it is one person's idea/project.
maybe there have been objections in the past, so they cooked up this excuse.
what about the tenants' right to use the garden.
what if they and you took out chairs, drinks etc at the same time and simply asserted their right and yours to the use of the garden. out-manoeuver them.
and what accountability is there for the money collected.
sounds like a nice little earner for someone.
bargain basement crisps/drinks etc charged at fortnam's prices. what a lot of snobs.
at xmas get a giant nodding santa with lurid lights and dangle it out of your window.
What were the first ever records that you bought and when?
Parents-in-Law. What do/did you call them?