THIS year’s Stockton Heath Festival has been hailed a huge success drawing record crowds to over 50 events for all ages and interests.
The main events took place from Thursday 30th June to 3rd July 2022.
David Matthews, the Chair for 2022 said: “Thank you to everyone for their support, I was thrilled to see so many people enjoying the extended weekend. It was my first festival and quite honestly, we could not have done it without such overwhelming community interest, sponsorship from local businesses, funding from the National Lottery, volunteers giving their time all weekend, and of course committee members behind the scenes.
“For many members, it was their first-ever event so seeing the festival field and community venues full of people having a great time was incredibly rewarding – especially as the festival has been postponed since 2019 due to Covid, we really could not have anticipated this level of success.”
There were many event highlights including the ever-popular dog show on Sunday afternoon, sell-out Ladies Day theatre performance, the art class hosted by Roy Holmes, Schwing band, Illyria performing Shakespeare open-air theatre in Grappenhall Walled Gardens, dancing, magic and singing shows, historic Walking Tours, storytelling in the library, and the popular art exhibition in the historic St Thomas’ Church in the heart of Stockton Heath.
Chris Matthias, who arranged the Art Exhibition comments:
“Thank you to all artists who submitted their work, making this a fine exhibition and congratulations to the winners. First place as chosen by expert judges Matt and Jo was Wendy Nuttall for Looking for the Light (Watercolour) winning a £100 prize and second was Lynne Mallard for Hydrangea (Watercolour) winning £50. The Tudor Pole winner which gained the most public votes was Shirley Cock for Spring Cleaning the Holiday Cottage (acrylic), securing the Ally Nobel trophy.
“I’m delighted that the event attracted 100s of visitors on Saturday alone, and over 5 days the interest shown led to over 40% of the artwork being sold. This reflected the quality of the pieces from local, amateur artists who I hope will be inspired to further exhibit their work. I learned such a lot from Helen Dutton who has previously coordinated the event, and several coordinators like myself are proud to continue the legacy of those who have developed and grown the festival before us.”
The Soul Federation on Sunday 3rd July was the festival finale concert, raising both the marquee roof and also £359 for the Walton Lea Project. Local dignitaries who visited the festival on Saturday included Deputy Mayor Cllr Graham Friend who was ‘very impressed’, and also MP Andy Carter Conservative MP for Warrington South.
Once the dust settles, planning will begin with enthusiasm for the 2023 festival.
