FESTIVAL REPORT 2008

 In late 2007 Lynne and I took the decision not to open our garden for the 2008 Festival due to uncertainty over my ability, through illness, to manage the physical work involved. In the event, this was a wise decision but not one which prevented us from being actively involved in the planning, set-up and execution of the Festival, plus hosting the post Festival Barbecue. This year, in an attempt to stimulate community interest and in support of our theme of “Recycling”, we introduced the Scrap Sculpture Challenge.  Despite some generous cash prizes thanks to the Waste Recycling Group’s sponsorship, we failed to attract significant numbers of entries, while succeeding in reducing still further the number of scarecrows on display. This decision resulted in a lot of extra work for very little reward and will be reviewed in the plans for 2009.Weatherwise, the garden festival weekend was typical for the year with mixed weather and consequently there was a need for visitors to maintain a brisk pace. Despite this incentive it was still impossible to visit all the gardens and do them justice. A record number of gardens were available for visitors to enjoy this year thanks to the inclusion of some new ones and the return of some old favourites, so well done to all the open garden owners for agreeing to take part, and for doing the festival proud. Hopefully they were suitably rewarded with visitors and compliments alike. As before, several gardens were opened for the benefit of specific charities and these, combined with the mainstays like All Saints Church and Trinity Methodists; both providing refreshments, raised a total in excess of £1500. My thanks go to the Winterton and District Gardeners Club for an excellent range of plants for sale at bargain prices; an essential at any garden festival. I was also pleased with the involvement of both the Infant and Junior schools with their scrap sculpture displays, which created added interest at Rangers. The Festival itself made a modest profit, which will be used to make the 10^th anniversary festival,  next year, even more memorable.  My thanks go to all our sponsors and to the members of the Committee and in some cases their wives and partners, for their support during the year and especially during the Festival weekend.  Chairman