Festival’s year absence
AS THE borough looks forward to a summer of festivals and fun, residents must wait until next year for one big event.
Wargrave Festival, which has been taking place every other year since 1975, has been postponed over coronavirus concerns.
Due to take place this summer, the 23rd festival promised a whole host of events, including a variety show, quiz, and Shakespeare on the green.
Ally Holloway, one of the festival’s organisers, said it was a “really tough decision” to hold off on this year’s celebration.
“Wargrave Festival has gone ahead every other year since 1975 — it’s the first time we’ve had to cancel or postpone it,” she explained.
“We start planning a long time prior to the event and nail down a lot of contractors and businesses early, but because of the financial commitment required and the uncertainty around covid, we thought it would be safer to postpone this festival until 2022.
“We didn’t want to let people down and cancel at the last minute.”
Ms Holloway said the committee is looking forward to next year’s event and plans are already in the pipeline, but residents will have to wait until June 2022 before celebrating the festival’s next theme: summer of love.
“The theme represents the warmth of summer, the joy of friendship and the vibrancy of this wonderful village,” Ms Holloway said.
“It’s funny that we went with summer of love because I think it’s so relevant in the current climate.
“We hope everybody is looking forward to coming together next year and putting on a big party.”
For the past 45 years, the 19-day festival has also raised money for community organisations to improve life in Wargrave — and next year will be no different.
“The primary focus of the festival, on top of uniting the community, will be raising money for essential businesses,” Ms Holloway confirmed. “People can definitely look forward to some of their old favourite events, and there are quite a few new activities on the horizon too.”
Tickets are expected to go on sale in April next year.