Earlsdon Wheelers’ delayed start

Earlsdon Wheelers’ weekly cycle rides will set off from the City Arms at the later time of 10.30am during January.

The group organises a friendly countryside ride between 20 and 50 miles each Saturday morning, weather permitting.  New riders are always welcome.

Earlsdon Festival Cancelled

The organisers of the Earlsdon Festival have announced that the event will not take place in 2016.

The bank holiday Festival, regularly attended by up to 10,000 people, has been an annual feature in the Earlsdon calendar since returning to the local community in 2011. A lack of volunteers has left the current organisers with no alternative but to postpone the 2016 event.

A statement issued by the organisers said:

“We are a small but committed team of volunteers who have worked hard in recent years to put on a successful family festival in the heart of Earlsdon.

“Unfortunately, a number of key members left the organising team following the 2015 Festival and, despite our best efforts, those individuals have not been replaced.

“We have taken the difficult decision not to stage the 2016 Festival. Instead we will take stock of where we are, recruit new volunteers and review what is needed to ensure the Festival can return successfully in 2017.

“We know this will cause disappointment in the community and deprive Coventry of a key visitor attraction but there is simply too much work involved for the small number of volunteers we currently have available.
“We would wish to thank everyone who has been involved in recent years and to provide assurances to the local community that this decision was taken to ensure that we can put on a successful and safe Festival in 2017.”

This decision applies to the ‘May Day’ Street Festival only. There will be a number of music and arts events taking place in April/May that may be promoted under the Festival banner. A small family event is also likely to take place in the playground at Earlsdon Primary School as in previous years.

If you are interested in getting involved and helping the Earlsdon Festival Committee, please email: earlsdonfest@gmail.com outlining your experience.

Earlsdon Street Lights Up

Thanks to the sterling efforts of Sandra Grundy of Millsy’s and Street, there will be Christmas lights in Earlsdon Street after all.  She has managed to negotiate the lights going up this year with contributions from most of the traders.  In the February issue  we will be doing a feature on the lights and the issues involved, to raise awareness for the future, including a list of the traders who contributed to them going up this year and setting out some plans for fundraising next year.  In the meantime Sandra is meeting with the council in the New Year to discuss a way forward.