THIS year’s Westbury Music and Arts Festival ended on a high note with the popular Opus One Swing Band delighting an audience at the Paragon Hall.
The festival, which ran from 16th September to 2nd October saw a variety of music, arts and entertainment come to the town, from folk favourites to exhibitions and workshops.
Roy Inwood, chair of the festival committee said, “It was very successful. We had some great entertainment, the two favourites where we had full houses were Finnegan’s Wake on the final Friday, and Opus One on the Sunday – everyone seemed to enjoy that.
“We only had to cancel one event down to poor advance ticket sales, and that was Green Tea at Matravers School. But we managed to find a space for Sarah Coffield [who was due to perform on the same evening] to sing at the Lopes Arms.
“The folk weekend went well, we could have done with a few more people at the gigs, but the musicians were excellent. And the folk market on the Saturday was a great success.”
The festival has also ended on a positive note financially. Roy said, “We’ve come out on the right side of that, we don’t know the exact figure yet, but it’s left us with money ready to plow back into next year’s event.
“The festival is gradually building up. We’ve had a lot more interest this year than in other years, and hopefully with those extra people taking an interest, we will get other people involved.”
