With apologies to our friends in Rampton, Landbeach and Waterbeach I want to write a few words about the recent Fen Edge Family Festival which for the first time had events being held in both Willingham and Cottenham over the weekend of the 24th June.
There are articles within this edition giving in short form some details of the highlights over the weekend, further details together with many photographs can be found on our web site www.fenedgefestival.co.uk. When I say write a few words about the festival I really mean about the people behind it with particular regard to Mike Smith who sadly due to other commitments has stood down this year as chair of the activities committee of FECA. The very first festival was held in Cottenham in 2005 with a themed Italian flavour, and since then they have been held on alternate years, this years being the fourth and by far the best by measure of participants, attendance and of course good old weather.
A constant theme through all of these has been Mikes enthusiasm, energy and dedication without it dare I say they might not have happened at all. A very big thank you to Mike and Sue for their tireless energies both below and above the line in getting the FEFF established as part of the Fen Edge calendar and my best wishes to them for the future. They are not leaving us, Mike’s expertise has sadly come to the attention of others outside of Cottenham and he will be concentrating his energies in another direction for a couple of years.
The concept of the festival is that it is run by volunteers to provide free and low cost entertainment over a weekend of a cultural, educational and just plain fun nature for the Fen Edge Community. At the same time the event provides an opportunity for local clubs etc to generate funds from the footfall provided during the festival. At this time of writing our final figures are not yet available but it is certain that we have raised a record amount of monies for FECA and in the region of £3500 has been raised by local societies for either their own or nominated charities.
A great result and thanks are due to our sponsors and of course to you who support the events in both villages. The success of FEFF is of course down to a number of very dedicated villagers who gave up so much of their time over the winter months planning and organising, cajoling reluctant participants and generally becoming immersed in the project. My thanks to all of them, too many to mention in this brief address but I hope that we have not tired them to much for shortly planning will start for the next one! We are always in need of volunteers to help with our projects, just a little of your time can make such a difference. Concerts are planned for the autumn, the Art Show will be with us in October and hopefully we can hold another of our famous Tea Dances at the end of summer.
One of the benefits of membership of our association is grant aid to both fledgling and established clubs and societies within our area. Other benefits include reduced room hire charges at Cottenham Village College, use of their mini buses subject to approved drivers and a small mileage charge. Not least of all free advertising in this publication and our web site pages. We reach out to over 7000 households in the patch area together with placements in local libraries, gyms etc. We seek to benefit the communities of Waterbeach Rampton, Willingham, Landbeach and Cottenham to improve the social, leisure and recreational facilities for all.
Have a great summer and I look forward to welcoming you at our next event.
ALAN LEEKS
CHAIRMAN
