The Hedon Mayor, Councillor Steve Gallant, has offered his thanks to all those involved in making the Hedon Festival 2018 happen. The day may have been challenged by the unexpected success of the England team in the World Cup and the ensuing upsurge of interest in football – but that only partially diminished the day. In fact the feel-good factor created by the football result (England 2 – 0 Sweden) probably added to the atmosphere around the town.

“HedFest  was a great success again this year with something for all ages. We did have a bit of lull while England saw off Sweden, but then the evening sparked up and bands were playing up to midnight at some venues. I managed to catch quite a few bands.

“The Parade was much bigger and better than the last time, with local schools and youth groups joining in with all the guest costumed performers. With 30 degree heat, I can tell you it was a bit warm leading the parade in full Mayoral attire, but it was great to see so many families out on the streets of the old town to watch and give Hedon a real carnival atmosphere!

“A huge thank you to the HedFest Working Group who spent many months planning the day, working long hours at the weekend to make it all come together, and to all those who came together on the day to make it happen.” – Councillor Steve Gallant, 672nd Mayor of Hedon.

Hedfest Chair, David Thompson (the man in the ‘King’ costume on the Parade) was a victim of the cancellation of the poetry event where he was due to perform, but is still upbeat about the whole day:

“We had an enjoyable and memorable day, made more so by England`s win over Sweden. Of course, the match affected Hedfest, the Performance Poetry had to be cancelled, and one pub had to pull out of Hedfest altogether.

“That said, Hedon still had a wonderful day, the Carnival Parade was a real spectacle with its variety, colours and characters, and the quality of the artists at the pubs, St Augustine`s and Alexandra Hall was superb. A first class family day with the activities and events on the school field and Market Hill. As Chairman of the Working Group, my thanks go to all who worked so hard to make Hedfest 18 such a success.

“It is hoped the Performance Poetry/Music can be re-arranged for a future date, and that this might become established as a regular open mic event in Hedon.” – David Thompson, Chair, Hedfest Working Group.

Parade Organiser for the Hedfest Working Group Councillor Sarah Rommell, said: “The whole event worked well despite the football. The parade was wonderful and I was happy when it all came together. It was a difficult thing to pull off but we did it and I hope the residents of Hedon and our visitors had a fantastic day. I would like to take the opportunity to thank all of our costumed characters, who were magnificent despite the heat. Thanks also to the local Sainsbury store who provided fruit and water and staff to hand it all out on the parade free of charge.”

Cllr Sarah Rommell and Kathryn Adams of Princess Parties

There are lots of ‘thank yous’ to be given by the Hedfest Working Group to all those that worked behind the scenes to make #Hedfest18 happen, and we are going to list those in the next few days – but first and foremost thank you to those who came to see, watch and join in with the festival fun. We had visitors from across the country and residents turned out in their droves. Thank you for supporting the Hedon Festival in 2018.

PS: In just two days we have had nearly 10,000 views of our Picture Gallery from the day. Add your photos as a record of Hedon’s busiest day of the year!