Washed-out Woodhall Spa festival postponed

A Bank Holiday festival in Woodhall Spa has been postponed due to waterlogged ground.

The Home and Garden Festival at Jubilee Park was booked out by more than 80 traders and was expecting a crowd of 15,000 guests over the May Bank Holiday.

Organisers Good Local Events said sodden grounds have meant forklifts and lorries were unable to get onto the site.

The event, which was a pilot for similar events to be held across Lincolnshire, the East Midlands and Yorkshire, has instead been rearranged for June 8 – 10

Event manager Conrad Murray said: “We were made aware by Jubilee Park management that the site was very wet on Sunday.

“A relatively small Dog Show was taking place and they could not get vehicles on.

“We need to get forklifts and lorries on to the site to build all the infrastructure you need for a major event and this was clearly not possible without destroying the surface.

“We had no choice really. Our plants arrive on large heavy lorries and there was stall infrastucture to build and marquees to erect and generators to be delivered. You cannot do that without plant and equipment.

“We will now run it on June 8 – 10 at Jubilee Park, which must be one of the best sites for an event like this in the country.

“We are very sorry the event cannot go ahead as it has generated a huge amount of public and trader support and interest.”

More than 80 plants, garden, leisure and food stalls were booked on to the free admission.

Entertainment booked included chainsaw carving demonstrations, basket making and a food and craft marquee.

“We have been able to locate many of them on to other events” Conrad added, “but what is particularly pleasing is that almost everyone has committed to coming back in June and we have also been taking new enquiries all week.

“It could be an even bigger and better event than the one we had scheduled.

“However we are particularly sorry to postpone because it was to have been the first of a series.

“It has proven that these shows can be hugely popular to both the public and traders, but Woodhall Spa will no longer be the first in the series which will now be held in Lincoln.”