Background
The first Lymm Festival took place in 1999. It has grown over the years and now spans eleven days each June and can involve 50 or more events, and it is as true to its original aims as it was when it started.
Drawing on a huge amount of local talent and willing participants, the Festival celebrates the visual and performance arts and, increasingly, includes activities designed to encourage involvement with the natural environment. The Festival has also been host to many visitors over the years who have performed or originated events in order to broaden the programme.
The Festival is organised by an Events Team working with a voluntary committee and an invaluable army of volunteers from the community.
As the Festival has grown, publicity is a key factor in getting our events heard about using press releases, posters and flyers, our website, newsletters and social media. The Publicity Team works with all these media in making us more of a household name in Lymm and the local area.
Financial Matters
Lymm Festival has always been a non-profit making organisation. It is a registered charity(number 1154232) with the aims of promoting the arts and local heritage for the public benefit.
The Festival aims to cover its costs and hold sufficient reserves to ensure that the next Festival can take place. In other words, so that the bills can be paid, even if the income drops significantly.
The Festival encourages local groups to organise events within the general framework of the Festival and well over half of the events in the programme fall into this category. Some of these groups choose to give any money raised to charities. Over the years thousands of pounds has been raised for the benefit of mainly local charities.
The annual report of Lymm Festival, including the accounts, is a matter of public record and can be viewed through the Charities Commission website at www.gov.uk/find-charity-information. In addition, the Festival’s annual general meeting is open to all members of the public to attend and is usually held in the Village Hall in February or March.