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Gnosall Parish Logo (Image) 

Gnosall Parish Council           

 (Including the wards of Moreton and Knightley)                                   

 

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GFest 2019 Review

Our 2019 Festival was our best yet, with 25+ activities and was made possible by our small but extremely enthusiastic GFest and CFest teams; my thanks go out to them and all the organisers of the various events.

One new event was the highly successful Canal Festival Weekend (CFest) of which more later. Also new was the Rugby Club Fun & Games event with a BBQ, an Active Ageing event and a Wine Tasting evening.

 

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Returning favourites included the highly popular Antiques & Collectibles Valuation (where the three professional valuers worked continuously for most of the session with a queue of people awaiting their turn), GG Youth Club Treasure Hunt and Barbeque. The Fire Station Charity Car Wash had a constant supply of visitors whilst the Family Fun Run again proved popular with all ages. The Heritage Group held a display in the Grosvenor Centre, while the free Pond Dipping on the Boardwalk was extremely popular with children. The Quiz and Prize Draw at the Grosvenor Centre was another of the huge successes, with all available tables being taken. The Community and Countryside event, which included a Dog Show, the sale of Strawberries and Cream and a Bar attracted quite a few people.

 

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Old favourites were not left out with the Classical Concert being well attended; the Family Bike Ride and, of course, the Made in Gnosall Craft Fair and the Church Tour remained popular. Moreton also had its popular Gnosall Singers Concert.

The GFest Church Service, held this year at the Methodist Church, was attended by a Deputy Lieutenant of Staffordshire and the Deputy Mayor of Stafford and his consort.

Other groups within the village also had open sessions for people to visit including Gnosall Phoenix Club and Gnosall Handbell Ringers.

The Festival finished with our (now annual) Fun Fair on the Village Green which coincided with the end of the school academic year and the new Canal Festival.

Canal Festival (CFest) a new event, organised by Barry Witts and Chris Hutton-Ashkenny together with their extremely efficient team, brought out much of the village and attracted

 

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many visitors. Held on the last weekend of GFest2019, the Shropshire Union Canal from the Cowley Tunnel past the Boat Inn and all the way past the Navigation Inn was the perfect setting for the historic and trade boats for visitors to see - all free of charge.

A Cider and Gin event over the weekend at the Boat Inn, together with a full list of events, proved to be a winner as did the Gardens and Music at the Navigation Inn. Gnosall Methodist Church’s Rev. Ken Hawkins room was the venue for a series of packed talks on Gnosall and the canal whilst an exhibition was held in the main hall together with refreshments.

Such was the success of this first CFest that the organisers are exploring the possibility of another event at a similar time in 2020.

What more can be said except roll on CFest2020 and GFest2021.

Kenneth Ingram

Chairman GFest 2019