Eleventh Night Children’s Festival at Galgorm cancelled due to tyres issue

Jackie Stewart, Chairman of Gracehill and Galgorm Community Association which organises the festival in conjunction with Gracehill Village Committee, said: “Unfortunately, we had some difficulty last year in receiving our grant from the Council due to tyres on the bonfire. This year the Council has again stipulated that there should be no tyres.

“As we could not afford to put on a festival with our own resources, it was too much of a risk to organise one in the hope that we could persuade the bonfire organisers do without tyres.”

The festival organisers had endeavoured, over the years, to work with the bonfire organisers to keep a tidy site and have an environmentally-friendly bonfire.

Mr Stewart pointed out that the decision not to proceed had been fully justified given the number of tyres that have appeared at the bonfire site at Galgorm Bridge.

He said he was disappointed to see a very untidy site with random dumping taking place regularly in what was a Conservation Area and popular tourist attraction.

“It’s a pity that we could not have a festival this year as it was enjoyed immensely by the children and others who attended” he said, “but it costs a lot of money and we couldn’t do it if a grant was not forthcoming.”