Roger Grant, the organiser of Saturday’s (July 1) MantonFest 2017, is emphatic: “How did it go?”, we asked. “MantonFest 2017 was the most successful yet.”
“We had twice as many people as last year, the weather was good and the atmosphere was electric. It was a complete family occasion with adults and children playing and enjoying themselves, listening to music and relaxing in the fine summer weather in amazing surroundings.”
“Toyah set the field alight with her fantastic performance and had the field up and dancing and cheering throughout her act. I have never seen an artist interact with the audience so well and get everybody dancing and thoroughly enjoying themselves. Little Miss Dynamite Mk 2.”
The proceedings were kicked off by Manton’s own Skedaddle, followed by Charlotte Simonis, whose father was the lead singer of one of our previous headliners, Straight Six. With nine bands playing Stuart Whant’s unenviable task was to make sure the sound checks and turn around took as little time as possible. This he achieved with time to spare.
Among the people coming to enjoy the music festival – the crowd was over 1,500 strong – were the legendary Trogs, and there is a very good chance they will be playing next year at MantonFest. Date yet to be fixed.
There was a wide variety and an abundance of food – from ice cream, pizzas, gourmet burgers, hog roast, tea and coffee. Though some people have told marlborough.news that the size of the crowd got the better of the abundance.
There were other stalls selling cotton summer dresses, glitter tattoos for children and fairy lights. As always, Gold Bars were present and did a roaring trade.
So, how did it go? Roger Grant really is delighted with Saturday’s Festival: “This year was a great success and has made a considerable amount of money towards the refurbishment of Manton Village Hall.”
“The helpers and stewards did an amazing job and without them MantonFest would not have been possible. A special thanks should be given to Fred and Emma Goltz who not only were our main sponsor, but also allowed us to use the water meadow for the fourth year running.”
So it’s definitely ‘Here’s to the next one…’
For further information and photographs you can visit the MantonFest FB page or their website. Marlborough.news thanks Nicola Salt for her photos – more about her here.