Torbay Coast & Countryside Trust (TCCT), the organisers of Occombe Festival, confirm that there won’t be a festival in 2020.
The Trust is working hard on the regeneration of Occombe Farm and doesn’t have the capacity to organise the festival as well. Building works may also need to commence before June, making the farmyard and barns unavailable for the festival.
Damian Offer, TCCT Chief Executive said:
“Giving the festival a break was a really tough decision. It’s become a well-supported and much-loved event in Torbay’s calendar. But we are a small team, with a lot planned and the farm could be a building site by June. We’ve considered alternative options but had to accept it’s just not feasible to run Occombe Festival in 2020”.
“We’re not saying never again, just not this year!”.
This popular local festival has grown massively in popularity over the years; 2020 would have been its 15th year. What started out as a celebration of local ales evolved to applaud local food and music too. Its stage has provided a platform for many local bands and has in more recent years brought in a selection of musical performers from the national music scene too.
The Trust will assess the feasibility of running the festival again once the regeneration of Occombe is complete. The time out will give the Trust space to consider options, review formats and consider new ideas.
Occombe Festival has been an essential fundraising event for Torbay Coast & Countryside Trust, which cares for a massive 1,700 acres of Torbay’s most beautiful natural places. These special places include Occombe Farm, Cockington Country Park and Berry Head National Nature Reserve and a host of wildlife-friendly woodlands, meadows, stunning cliffs and coastlines. All the profits from the festival go directly to the Trust to help care for and maintain these sites in Torbay; providing places for public enjoyment, recreation and habitats for wildlife.
The regeneration of Occombe Farm is intended to provide a more robust revenue stream to fund the Trust’s charitable work in caring for Torbay’s natural environment, facilitating recreational access to our natural heritage and delivering education about this heritage and environmental issues.
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