Wellington Food Town is at a crossroads and under threat. The people who plan the event are stepping down after six years in charge and at the moment there is no clear leadership in place for the 2016 event in September this year.
Wellington District Rotary club are considering taking on the challenge and make a decision next week. “Our concern is whether we have the manpower and resources at present to do it properly,” said rotary president Symon Jeffery.
“There’s a unanimous view that it’s great for the town and would be great for Rotary. We’d want it to continue at its current very successful level.”
Last September an estimated 14,000 people visited the 10th year of the Food Town and enjoyed 70 stalls offering everything from local cheese to craft ales. The first Food Town event in 2005 took place in a marquee with a few stalls in the Conservative Club car park and has grown to become one of the most successful festivals in the town’s annual calendar.
“Both Donna Munson, the chair, and myself feel that we’re running out of steam a little after many years of involvement and that it needs fresh ideas and impetus to take it forward,” said Richard Coupe, responsible for food Town marketing and publicity.
There is a large body of volunteers, led by Jill Mitton, who make food Town happen on the day by manning barriers, liaising with stallholders, and stewarding visitors. The problem to be solved is over the planning and admin concerning road closures etc over the coming months.
Mr Coupe added that if it came to a crisis, he and Donna may be persuaded to give it another year – at the most. “It’s too important to the town to let it fail,” he said.
When the future of Food Town was discussed at Wellington Town council last week, many councillors spoke strongly about the need to keep Food Town running successfully as part of the town’s identity.
Devastated to read this news: I am currently thinking hard about how I might play a small part in the continuation of this massively valuable event for Wellington. Watch this space!
One way could be to help increase manpower at Wellington & District Rotary – have a look at our campaign currently running in the Welly Weekly including a wine-tasting event in May, and our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/WellyDistrictRotary
We are always looking for volunteers to help out on the day if you can give an hour or two it will be very appreciated and will help make the event the success it has been for the last 10 years
We are Bev and Sarah. We run the Burnham on Sea Food and Drink Festival on a very similar ethos to WFT. We have offered to take on the WFT: continuing this wonderful event for Wellington. It is a great showcase for local food and drink, a great fundraising opportunity for many local charities and a platform for musicians. We want to bring our experience from BoS to Wellington giving you a great event that is welcoming, well-run and works for the town. The offer has been made and we are happy to talk with whomever to make sure you get a WFT in 2016.