Cellardyke Residents Association

The future and fate of the Anstruther Harbour Festival will be discussed at a meeting on

Thursday, Oct. 19, at 7:30pm in the Burgh Chambers meeting room of Anstruther Town Hall. The Planning Committee of the Anstruther Harbour Festival is having this general meeting, open to everybody, to discuss the future of the festival.

The future of the Festival is in jeopardy. The risk?  

That the AHF will either not take place in 2018, or will cease to be held in the future altogether.

For the past five years, a committee of five people has planned and operated the Festival. ALL five of these people are over 60. Nobody gets paid for their time/efforts, nobody benefits financially, and all AHF expenses and accounts are audited and transparent.

These committee members are now at a point where burn-out is occurring.  We are tired!  

The AHF needs -- wants! -- more support from people in this area.  We need volunteers to help with event pre-planning, or being available during the few days of the Festival weekend to help with various management and operational activities. When we have made public requests for volunteers to help this year and in the past -- the response has been extremely limited.  We need to change this!!

We need volunteers to help plan and run the event. Find raffle prizes and sell raffle tickets. We need someone to liaise with stallholders, someone to organise the best shop window competition, people to distribute programmes and people to act as village ambassadors ready to answer visitors’ questions. More importantly, we WANT people to come up with new ideas and help make them happen.

The AHF needs more financial support  from local shop-keepers and area businesses. On Festival weekends, we know--we see-- how Anstruther businesses benefit from the increased Festival footfall as people are eating, drinking, shopping. Visitors come in on boats, stay in b&b's, or do holiday rentals -- and they all need to eat and drink during their time in Anstruther. Businesses are benefiting from, but not supporting, the very event helping to put additional money in their tills. We hope -- expect!! -- to work more closely with Team Anstruther shopkeepers, as well as other area businesses. 

To put on this event costs a lot of money and without financial support,  the Festival will just not happen. Money is spent on performers, musicians, dancers and entertainers. Money is needed for necessities such as marquees, tables/chairs, portable loos – and the legally required insurance for the whole event. Donations from individuals and business sponsorships, along with raffle ticket sales, help defray these costs, but don’t cover everything. Fife Council grant money has been, and will be, cut back due to their own , budget limitations so new sources of money now have to be found, and we would welcome help on this.

IF YOU WANT THIS TRADITIONAL COMMUNITY EVENT OF THE ANSTRUTHER HARBOUR FESTIVAL TO CONTINUE INTO THE FUTURE, PLEASE SHARE THIS EMAIL WITH OTHERS AND ATTEND THIS MEETING!