Post by DaveM on Jul 5, 2021 14:21:57 GMT
Totally gutted, but I have to announce we can no longer go ahead this year 
Please see below:
It is with great regret that Jan and I have to bring the sad, although possibly not unexpected, news that we will have to cancel the 2021 Bognor Regis Kite Festival.
We have both been working very hard with Arun District Council for many months trying to make this event happen for Bognor Regis and Felpham. COVID-19 is sadly having a huge impact on organising events at this current time.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank Bognor Regis Town Council and Felpham Parish Council for their continued support with grant aid which helps towards the costs of organising a free large scale local event for the public to attend. Likewise, our thanks go to Arun District Council for allowing the use of KGV playing fields and the pavilion for the festival.
As event organisers safety is our absolute priority for everyone who is involved at the Kite Festival and the public which must be our first concern.
Originally we thought that the Governments 21st June date for coming out of lockdown would be the latest date we could work with to get all the necessary permissions and funds in place for this year.
Our first major problem then came after the Governments one month extension to coming out of lockdown on 21st June, moving the date to 19th July at the earliest, with unknown restrictions that might still apply after this date (e.g. social distancing). We decided as a last chance we would wait until the mid-point announcement for any early easing of restrictions on 5th July, but the details then came saying nothing is going to change on that date either.
In our opinion it has now become too great a risk to just hope that all restrictions will be lifted and we can get enough funds in time should we just keep waiting. If we fail to achieve this it would potentially risk us not being able to possibly have future kite festivals in 2022 and beyond.
As an example should social distancing still remain, we would be unable to police this at the event on public land as the cost of employing additional stewards to do so would be prohibitive. Necessary requirements for events must to be adhered to for both Arun District Council and also West Sussex County Council for COVID-19 risk mitigations and we financially would not be able to achieve this in the short time still left to generate sufficient income.
It would also be unfair to our entertainers, stall holders and traders if we asked them to keep continuously waiting with us and then potentially lose out on other work they could have acquired over the August Bank Holiday.
With COVID cases now rising again daily, nobody really knows what is likely to happen after 19th July 2021, but there has to come a point when the final decision is made.
We are both very sorry and bitterly disappointed we cannot go ahead this year. We know that all the kite fliers will be equally disappointed but without doubt we will be back in 2022 with all our beautiful kites and other entertainment.
Dave & Jan
Dave Mitchell – Jan Malpas
BRKF Organisers
Please see below:
It is with great regret that Jan and I have to bring the sad, although possibly not unexpected, news that we will have to cancel the 2021 Bognor Regis Kite Festival.
We have both been working very hard with Arun District Council for many months trying to make this event happen for Bognor Regis and Felpham. COVID-19 is sadly having a huge impact on organising events at this current time.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank Bognor Regis Town Council and Felpham Parish Council for their continued support with grant aid which helps towards the costs of organising a free large scale local event for the public to attend. Likewise, our thanks go to Arun District Council for allowing the use of KGV playing fields and the pavilion for the festival.
As event organisers safety is our absolute priority for everyone who is involved at the Kite Festival and the public which must be our first concern.
Originally we thought that the Governments 21st June date for coming out of lockdown would be the latest date we could work with to get all the necessary permissions and funds in place for this year.
Our first major problem then came after the Governments one month extension to coming out of lockdown on 21st June, moving the date to 19th July at the earliest, with unknown restrictions that might still apply after this date (e.g. social distancing). We decided as a last chance we would wait until the mid-point announcement for any early easing of restrictions on 5th July, but the details then came saying nothing is going to change on that date either.
In our opinion it has now become too great a risk to just hope that all restrictions will be lifted and we can get enough funds in time should we just keep waiting. If we fail to achieve this it would potentially risk us not being able to possibly have future kite festivals in 2022 and beyond.
As an example should social distancing still remain, we would be unable to police this at the event on public land as the cost of employing additional stewards to do so would be prohibitive. Necessary requirements for events must to be adhered to for both Arun District Council and also West Sussex County Council for COVID-19 risk mitigations and we financially would not be able to achieve this in the short time still left to generate sufficient income.
It would also be unfair to our entertainers, stall holders and traders if we asked them to keep continuously waiting with us and then potentially lose out on other work they could have acquired over the August Bank Holiday.
With COVID cases now rising again daily, nobody really knows what is likely to happen after 19th July 2021, but there has to come a point when the final decision is made.
We are both very sorry and bitterly disappointed we cannot go ahead this year. We know that all the kite fliers will be equally disappointed but without doubt we will be back in 2022 with all our beautiful kites and other entertainment.
Dave & Jan
Dave Mitchell – Jan Malpas
BRKF Organisers
