KEYNSHAM Music Festival defied the rain to pull in the crowds at its showpiece big weekend in the Memorial Park.
But sales of ticketed events throughout the week were “disappointingly low”, said festival chair Mike May – apart from the opera The Magic Flute, which attracted more attendees than ever before.
Mike said of the event, which ran from June 30 to July 6: “This has been a very challenging year financially – costs have continued to rise and businesses have found it increasingly difficult to provide their usual sponsorships.
“On top of that, following an extended period of good weather, both days of the festival weekend saw somewhat damp starts.
“However, once the weather brightened, we saw record numbers for the Family Festival on the Saturday and much the same numbers as the last few years for the Sunday.”
Mike said feedback was positive from audiences and performers alike.
“Apart from a couple of minor operational issues, the public have given us an overwhelming thumbs-up. In particular, the Family Festival has become a firm favourite with both young and old.
“We work hard to ensure that the platform we provide for performers is top quality. The feedback from them is always so good to hear. For some, this is the first opportunity to play to a large audience, so they are very appreciative of the efforts the stage management teams make.”
Thoughts have already turned to next year’s event, despite the challenges that continue to be faced.
Mike said: “The number of festivals that no longer exist demonstrate just how difficult this environment is – especially when we want to ensure that donations rather than tickets to enter remain our goal.
“We also have the added pressure of having to book most of our infrastructure very quickly to ensure we have any festival next year.
“Our first priority is to try and recoup our lost revenue. How successful we are will dictate how next year’s festival will look. We already have plans for a couple of events to raise funds between now and the end of the year – so keep your eyes peeled!”
Photos: Colin Rayner
