People needed to plan festival

SUPPORT the Bungay Festival if you want it to continue - that was the message from the committee this week.

There were only five people at an initial meeting to start planning the 2009 event, and with chairman Arthur Fisher standing down more people are needed to join the committee and be active if it is to continue.

At Monday's town council meeting John Warnes, who is treasurer, said an open meeting was planned for February 11, and all organisations who had contributed to the two-week festival in previous years had been contacted to invite them to it.

“We want to carry on with the festival if we can - it is an opportunity for the town to showcase itself, and it is important at this time (of economic downturn) to push the town forward at every opportunity,” he said.

He appealed to members of the council and anyone else who felt they could offer anything to help the festival to go along to the open meeting, which will be at the council chamber on February 11, at 7.30pm.

Mr Warnes paid tribute to Mr Fisher, who has been chairman of the festival for several years.

“He has offered his resignation, and feels it is time for someone else to have a go. I would like to thank him for all the work he has put into it over the years,” he said.

Mr Fisher also appealed to people to support the festival. He said five people was not enough to plan a two-week event.

Didy Ward offered to take on the role of secretary, and Mr Warnes said a new chairman would be voted in at the meeting.

This year the Bungay Festival will run from July 4-18. The event started as a weekend festival in 1988 when it celebrated the 300th anniversary of the Great Fire of Bungay, and for some years was headed by the town reeve.

It evolved into a two-week event, with over 40 individual events organised by local clubs, societies and organisations, during the 1990s. It embodies cultural, music, sporting, fun and youth events, and was taken over by a festival committee in 1999.