Plug pulled on Stafford Castle Music Festival?

Tumble weed

Well-Known Forumite
Seems like the council has pulled the plug on the once great music festival thrown at the castle.

Shame, was always a laugh going up with your friends.
 

Gareth

Well-Known Forumite
If they have pulled the plug I wouldn't be surprised unfortunately. Last couple of years the attendance has been quite dire
 

tek-monkey

wanna see my snake?
Used to love it, but we stopped attending back when the police were a regular feature at the end of the night.
 

CJTheBrave

A few posts under my belt
Was on the cards after last years dumbed down event . . . . more like the kids day in the park really (and only a week after it).
Remember this 'new event' . . . . . http://www.staffordbc.gov.uk/news-articles/castle-provides-backdrop-for-new-family-festival
Face painting, balloon modelling, street food and a smattering of music if I recall.
What's more, it became an expensive event - £5 per car AND £5 a head for all those over 12 . . . . . now I wonder why the attendance wasn't so good :hmm:
 

Goldilox

How do I edit this?
What's more, it became an expensive event - £5 per car AND £5 a head for all those over 12 . . . . . now I wonder why the attendance wasn't so good :hmm:

Glastonbury was £238 + a £5 booking fee in 2017. For a day of outdoor live music I think a fiver a head is pretty gosh-darned reasonable.

It would, I admit, have been nice if SBC didn't have to reformat the event to discourage idiots who just turned up to get drunk & fight, but given their increasing prevalence over the years I've been attending, I can hardly blame them for it.
 

SCHC

Well-Known Forumite
We would like to do a small summer fayre with an eye on food and drink and evening entertainment. But rules/regs, public disorder (based on this thread) and of cause up front costs worry us. Shame because Riverway would be great venue for something like that. Any thoughts or input from any local businesses would be welcome. We already have a successful hockey/beer festival and fireworks night
 

Wormella

Well-Known Forumite
We would like to do a small summer fayre with an eye on food and drink and evening entertainment. But rules/regs, public disorder (based on this thread) and of cause up front costs worry us. Shame because Riverway would be great venue for something like that. Any thoughts or input from any local businesses would be welcome. We already have a successful hockey/beer festival and fireworks night

I think smaller, well managed and thought out events work well, certainly @Goldilox has played plenty of nice ones - the issue with the castle is that it's expanded, grew and changed every year, with a remit of 'we must cater for everyone'. Last time I went there were 2 stages, a dj tent and everyone just had gallons of booze at their disposal.
 

CJTheBrave

A few posts under my belt
Glastonbury was £238 + a £5 booking fee in 2017. For a day of outdoor live music I think a fiver a head is pretty gosh-darned reasonable

Well with respect, a couple of points here, Glastonbury is 'somewhat' in a different league artist wise (no disrespect to our local bands), and it lasts a good 2 days on multiple stages, last year's musical contribution at the castle probably amounted to little over 4 hours.

It's a real shame SBC have seen fit to kill this off rather than use some of the funds raised to police the event properly and encourage both local artists and genuine local music lovers to have, what used to be, a great day out!
 

Withnail

Well-Known Forumite
Well with respect, a couple of points here..
It's a real shame SBC have seen fit to kill this off rather than use some of the funds raised to police the event properly...
Well with respect, a couple of points here...

Well, that's it then, the council has cancelled it all together now. Shame, used to be great fun.
Aw what? How do you know?
Removed all notice of it from the council websites, deleted the Web page, and only lists the Shakespeare one now, when both were listed before.

Now for starters, the fact that the event isn't listed by SBC is no guarantee that it has been kiboshed. As far as i know it's still on, though i'd be unsurprised to find out it's not.

The entire Leisure & Culture portfolio has been assumed by Freedom Leisure, so it is to them that any potential 'ire' should be directed should it be 'discontinued'. One might ask them, for example, if they are fulfilling their remit to maintain 'exactly' the services that they had committed themselves to?

Will they 'maintain' the same level of service that was hitherto provided by SBC?

That's what they said they'll do, but will they?

It's a real shame SBC have seen fit to kill this off rather than use some of the funds raised to police the event properly...
This is an unintentionally funny sentence.

The whole reason the nature of the event was changed was entirely because of the actual Police - they called the Event organisers, and the outsourced Head of the Security detail, into the Chief Constable's office the day after the event two years ago to answer one question;

Why was my entire mobile operation for the County called to your location last night?

Answer came there unsatisfactorily.

It was then made abundantly clear to the organisers that, if it were to go ahead for another year, the Event would have to be reinvented in a dramatically different guise - otherwise the Staffordshire Police would not support their application for a licence to provide the kind of entertainment that it had hitherto been granted.

And thus a 'new' Event was born. A bit mas tranquillo.

Blame the dickheads if you must apportion blame, for it is upon them that blame should rightly be placed.
 
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CJTheBrave

A few posts under my belt
This is an unintentionally funny sentence.

You've taken the word 'police' a tad literally here, it was, as you know, intended to refer to 'the policing' of the event and not the Police Force themselves. Had 'security' been funded or managed adequately at previous events then perhaps the questions raised in the Cheif Constables office may never have arisen.

I don't think we can lay the blame at the feet of an organisation that has taken over a legacy event that has clearly built up a reputation long before it became their remit.

Anyway, whatever the outcome here, Stafford would surely benefit some form of local music event that encourages the young (or not so) and talented of the area to air their talents in a safe and family friendly environment. The castle, I believe, provided an ideal outdoor backdrop for such an event, however it needn't be the only option. Perhaps the event could be relocated to a more 'manageable' location so it could continue . . . .
 

Mikinton

Well-Known Forumite
Glastonbury was £238 + a £5 booking fee in 2017. For a day of outdoor live music I think a fiver a head is pretty gosh-darned reasonable.

It would, I admit, have been nice if SBC didn't have to reformat the event to discourage idiots who just turned up to get drunk & fight, but given their increasing prevalence over the years I've been attending, I can hardly blame them for it.
Maybe at "a fiver a head" it was underpriced. If they'd charged more for a bigger event, it may have kept out the riff-raff.
 

Wormella

Well-Known Forumite
and http://staffsfest.co.uk/

Staffs-Fest-2018-poster-2.png
 
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