Check your diary for year of fun-packed events in Bridport (From Bridport and Lyme Regis News)

Check your diary for year of fun-packed events in Bridport

11:00am Wednesday 23rd January 2013 in News By Rene Gerryts

A BUMPER year of events is lined up in Bridport for people to look forward in the year ahead.

The calendar includes such highlights as the Food Festival, the carnival, the From Page to Screen film festival, the Charter Fair, Hat Festival, Bridport Prize, Spirit of Bridport fair and Melplash Show.

Then there are the bread and butter offerings from pantomimes and Easter egg hunts, to craft and community fairs, art exhibitions, fun runs and dog shows.

On top of all those are the eclectic mix of entertainments offered by The Lyric, Bridport Arts Centre, The Electric Palace and full programmes of live music in the town’s pubs.

Mayor Dave Rickard said there might not be the Olympics but there was still plenty to look forward to this year.

He said: “It might not be quite as many ‘add-on’ events but we have built up such a regular supply of events all through the year it is business as usual and we do those sort of things very well. I am not going to have many weeks off.”

He said there would not be the Spirit of Bridport Festival during the summer – or if it happened it would be a very much smaller affair.

However, an event like the group’s February community affair was planned possibly for the autumn involving local businesses.

He said: “We want to have an event which will give all the businesses, especially the tourist side, a chance to promote Bridport inside and outside Dorset.

Amanda Streatfeild, from the Food Festival, said this year would be the tenth anniversary and something really special.

She said: “We have lots of new people involved people this year which is great because they are bringing new ideas and we are hopeful there might be more going on in the evenings alongside the beer festival which might be exciting and appeal to different people.

“This is our tenth anniversary. It started with just the Food and Land Trust literally in Bucky Doo Square and it has been marvellous being able to move to Asker Meadows which lets us expand a little.

“We don’t want it to become a much bigger and grander event. We all like it to be very much a local festival for local people involving local companies to tell locals where they can get things.”

She said it did also attract people from outside the area and that was good for businesses offering accommodation.

TIMETABLE OF ACTIVITIES

• Spirit of Bridport Community Fair: Town Hall February 2
• Aladdin panto: Electric Palace, February 6 to 9 
• Easter Egg Hunt: Millennium Green, April 7 tbc 
• Page to Screen: Bridport Arts Centre, April 10 to 14 
• May Fair: Millennium Green, May 25
• Brit Valley Rotary Dog Show: May 26 
• Food Festival: June 10 to 16 
• Charter Fair: July 6 tbc 
• Picnic Proms: Millennium Green, July 13 tbc 
• Great Bridport Fun Run: July 14 
• Sea Sunday: West Bay, July 14
• West Bay Raft Race: July 25 
• Carnival: August 17 tbc 
• Melplash Show: August 22 
• West Bay Fun Day: August 25 
• Hat Festival: September 7 to 9 
• Lions Swimarathon: October 6 
• Apple Day: October 12 tbc 
• Bridport Prize: October 20 to 27 tbc 
• Remembrance Parade: November 10 
• Christmas Festival: December 4 
• Christmas tree festival: December 4 - 15 
• West Bay Bay Wallow: December 26