A NEW music festival taking place in Beccles at the end of the month will be used to gage public support for plans to erect a bandstand at the quay.The inaugural Harvest Moon Festival, organised by Beccles Community Arts, takes place at Beccles quay meadow on Sunday August 24, from noon until dusk, and will feature a wide variety of DJs, bands and solo performers from the Beccles area.

A NEW music festival taking place in Beccles at the end of the month will be used to gage public support for plans to erect a bandstand at the quay.

The inaugural Harvest Moon Festival, organised by Beccles Community Arts, takes place at Beccles quay meadow on Sunday August 24, from noon until dusk, and will feature a wide variety of DJs, bands and solo performers from the Beccles area.

The acts will perform on the back of a trailer and will include a number of drum 'n' bass, hip hop, electro and house DJs including Tronic, Distortion and Crush, as well as indie, jazz, blues, punk, rock 'n' roll and country music from bands such as Remold, Green Feat, and Fabrico.

But as well as aiming to provide a fun day out for the family, the event has been set up to see if the people of Beccles would welcome plans to create a permanent band stand at the quay, which could include re-landscaping the area to make it a more welcoming proposition for picnickers and tourists.

The idea of the bandstand was first brought into the public domain back in March, but Beccles Community Arts are stressing that they need to get more feedback in order to gage the viability of a project that could require £10,000 in funding.

Community Arts member Chris Hannant, who also plays in the band El Gato's Men, which will appear at the festival, said: “The bandstand idea's still a baby at the moment, so the idea of the festival is to publicise the idea of the bandstand. We're trying to find out whether it's just us four at Beccles Community Arts or do the rest of Beccles think it's a good idea?”

Jula Janney, secretary of Beccles Community Arts, said: “We're not going to ram it down people's throats, we're going to say to people, this is what it could be like. Dreams have to start somewhere.”

The proposed bandstand would have a permanent concrete base, although the rest would be removable and could be hired out to help pay for its cost, or moved into the centre of town for other events such as Remembrance Sunday.

It has been suggested that the bandstand could be made to fit a broads theme, while architectural artist Alan Manning, who works from the Ellough Industrial Estate, has been working on some ideas about what it might look like.

The Harvest Moon Festival is free. The quay café will be open late, although there will be no bar on site, so revellers are advised to bring their own picnic and refreshments, as well as portable chairs or a blanket.