Peasedown St John has celebrated its 6th summer festival and has broken all previous records for the amount of money raised from the event.
More than 2,500 villagers turned out for the event, which saw 7 hours of live music and entertainment, a huge array of stalls and attractions, the return of the Peasedown Diamond cider, and the results of the Party in the Park Grant Giveaway.
The highly anticipated Sara Holley Community Award, launched in 2011 in memory of a community activist who died at just 42 years old, was won by Ken Wilcox.
Chairman of the festival team, Cllr Nathan Hartley, said: “Ken Wilcox is part of the fabric of community life in Peasedown St John.
“If you go back as part as 1947, when he was just 16 years old, you would have found him playing cricket on the grounds where the Cricket Club stands today.
“Back in the early days, Ken took the decision to play all games away for a season so the cricket field that we know today could be used for tipping which brought in money to build the club but also level the playing field.
“Spanning almost 7 decades, looking back at his voluntary work you can see that thanks to his leadership, drive and passion for sport in the community, Peasedown Cricket Club is the fantastic facility it is today.
“Thanks to his work there are three cricket teams, a Croquet Club and no less than 16 football teams.
“After 67 years of commitment to Peasedown St John, we were honoured to present the Sara Holley Community Award 2014 to Ken Wilcox.”
The headline act for the festival was ‘Heat’ at 3pm, who impressed revellers with their eclectic mix and foot-stomping style.
Other performers on the Main Stage, which was sponsored by Peasedown St John Parish Council, included Whytehouse, Worry Dolls, Susan Hill School of Dance, the Bath Spa Brass Band, DJ Pete Bailey from Somer Valley FM, and this year’s Victoria Hall Battle of the Bands winner – Rivers of England.
Thanks to the support of local people, 60 attractions, and sponsorship from more than 20 businesses and organisations, almost £8,000 was raised at this year’s festival – the most successful to date.
Festival Secretary Cat Savage added: “All of this money will now be reinvested back into the community either by funding next year’s event, or through our Party in the Park Grant Fund.
“We were pleased to present cheques, worth almost £2,000, to four organisations on Saturday, all of which were successful applicants to the Grant Fund earlier this year.”
Peasedown groups, initiatives and projects that received funding were Peasedown Toy Library (£500), Camerton and Peasedown Croquet Club (£500), St John’s Church Football in the Community Coach (£500) and Laurel Farm Kindergarden (£420).
To add extra excitement to the proceedings, this year’s Special Guest Hosts were Pete Helmore and Luke Barnes from Somer Valley FM, and Peasedown’s very own Loose Women, Karen Walker and Jo Davis, who present a radio show as the local station.
Ben Curd, from Radstock-based Out of the Can Productions was on hand recording footage for the new Party in the Park promotional film.
Peasedown St John’s Party in the Park festival was held on Saturday 14th June on Beacon Field, French Close, from 12 noon – 7 pm. Event sponsors were Bluebird Care, Norton Radstock College, Michael Gould Estate Agents and Bath Audi.
More than 50 volunteers helped ensure the day run smoothly, with support from Paulton Army Cadets.
For more details and to see photos from the festival visit www.peasedownpartyinthepark.org.uk. The website also provides an opportunity to send feedback to the Festival Management Team.