Trustees Annual Report for Carrickfergus Musical Festival 2023
The Trustees made the decision in the interests of Health and Safety of volunteers and performers alike to cancel the festival from 2020 to 2022 inclusive. A decision was made by the Trustees to go ahead with a small festival in March 2023 using the smaller Dobbs Room in the Town Hall instead of the larger and more costly Jubilee Hall. This proved to be of immense help to the finances of running a festival.
A grant from Mid and East Antrim was awarded and this helped greatly with the running costs.
Entries were well maintained in the adult Musical theatre classes as well as the piano classes, although solo entries from primary schools were quite sparse.The most successful part of the festival was the adult choir evening and the primary schools choir afternoon. Instrumental classes were supported but not yet at the level of years prior to covid.
The most costly part of running the festival was the employment of professional adjudicators and accompanists . Many of our performers came from outside the immediate Carrickfergus area which brought revenue to the town by way of restaurants and car parks.
Audrey Stewart Hon. Administrator CMFA