Time called on Hitchin festival which can’t find venue
TIME has been called on a busy festival which attracts thousands of people a year, because it cannot find a new venue.
The future of Hitchin Beer Festival is under threat.
And organisers North Herts CAMRA have been forced to cancel next year’s festival in the meanwhile, because they cannot find anywhere to hold it.
The festival, which has been running for 20 years, used to be held at the town hall which is now undergoing a major redevelopment project.
Chairman Brian Mason said: “We can’t find anywhere, so we’re having to abandon it completely.
“We’ve looked at the boys’ school, the girls’ school, and lots of places, but no where’s big enough. No where is as big as the town hall. We can’t have a marquee because it’s too expensive.”
There had been hopes the weekend-long festival, also ran by Hitchin Round Table, could have been held in the town hall for another year.
Most Read
- 1 11-year-old boy 'seriously injured' after e-scooter and car crash
- 2 Weston fraudster given jail time after scamming council out of £700,000
- 3 Licence review for Hitchin's Chicken George after neighbour complaint
- 4 Programme of one-off summer workshops at The Settlement
- 5 Crowds gather to mark Armed Forces Day in Letchworth
- 6 'He lives on in the hearts of those who knew him' - hundreds pay respects to Kajetan at moving mass
- 7 Bid to find living kidney transplant donor for Hitchin girl
- 8 Stevenage woman, 52, accused of wounding 91-year-old in her own home
- 9 Avid quizmaster raising funds for rape and sexual assault support service
- 10 Decision on controversial Lord Lister application deferred
But those were dashed in autumn when North Herts District Council said it would be too expensive.
The event, which is usually held in early spring, is one of the main events in the town’s annual calendar and the largest beer festival in the area.
“It is a massive shame, really disappointing, but there’s nothing we can do,” added Mr Mason.
“People have said about going to somewhere like Royston, but it’s out of the way and people won’t go too far out of the town centre.
“If they [councils] want people to use facilities, there needs to be a bigger hall. We can’t reduce the number of beers, it wouldn’t work and wouldn’t be worth the effort.”