WITH THE sun shining, Town Council’s first Great British Rhythm and Blues Festival drew thousands to the town over the Bank Holiday weekend. Both visitors and residents have been quick to praise the Council which, with just one full-time, and three part-time, members of staff, plus the support of volunteer councillors and townsfolk, managed to stage its first professional, multi venue, three-day festival.
Councillor Joe Cooney, Chairman of the Blues Working Group at Colne Town Council, said: “If you want to keep the Blues in Colne, let us know at [email protected] and if you still want to purchase some Festival Merchandise we will reserve some for payment and collection later. We’re hoping people loved it so much, they’d like a memento to show they were there. Every penny raised will go straight to funding the 2018 Blues. Merchandise starts from as little as £2 and every pound helps us make the Blues viable.
“An in-depth review of the entire event will be carried out over the next few weeks with our audience members, residents, local businesses, volunteers and the Police. We will then capture all this information and present it to Full Council, including the financial impact, once the full picture is known.”
Back in November, Pendle Leisure Trust confirmed it would no longer be running The Blues, so the Town Council was faced with a stark and difficult choice; either have no Blues Festival at all, or step into the breach. Despite concerns, the councillors voted overwhelmingly to take The Blues on.
Town Council Chairman, Paul Foxley, explained: “Running an event spanning 12 venues with more than 100 acts over three days is no mean feat. A key part of our plan was a reliance on a large number of volunteers prepared to give up their time, in all sorts of roles, to help us deliver The Blues. They were absolutely fantastic and we are also indebted to the Police who have been so supportive throughout, especially in bringing into force our planned contingency of an early road closure if crowds flocked to the event which they did.”
The Town Council is already on the look-out for volunteers for the 2018 Blues, so if you want to help Keep The Blues in Colne, please call the Town Hall on 01282 861888 or e-mail [email protected]
