AROUND 1,250 festivalgoers enjoyed the sound of music returning to Saddleworth at a ‘brilliant’ WelliFest.
The popular family music event was cancelled last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic but was a sell-out this year on June 26 at Well-i-hole Farm and campsite in Greenfield.
The line-up of performers included headline act Beyond Madness, The Microdots, Uncle Buck, The Remedy and Liberty Eaton, as well as DJ Bob Marshall.
The annual event is organised by the Rotary Clubs of Saddleworth and Oldham Metro, with profits going to support local good causes and charities.
Frank Bolger and Anthony Burke, Co-Chairs of the WelliFest and Saddleworth Show Organising Committee, said: “WelliFest is over for another year and what a brilliant day it was!
“The feedback from those attending was so positive and it was so gratifying as organisers to see so many enjoy a small taste of near normality in safety.
“All the event profits go to support local good causes and Rotary charities as all the helpers are unpaid volunteers.
“Our thanks go to members and friends of Dovestone WI and Saddleworth Round Table and our young volunteers, as well as the family and friends of Rotary Saddleworth and Rotary Oldham Metro.
“Our ethos is very much about creating opportunities for local bands and young people to express themselves through the medium of music.
“While we have been unable this year to run music auditions for young performers in local schools, our ethos has been kept very much alive seeing 11-year-old Elijah and Imogen Flint take to the stage during the afternoon, along with Liberty Eaton, a previous audition winner from 2019.
“Our thanks also go to our sponsors of WelliFest and Saddleworth Show without whose support the event couldn’t happen.
“Finally our thanks go to Well-i-hole Farm and campsite for their help and support throughout the planning and at the event and our local police, who did a great job helping at the event and on traffic support.”
Plans for WelliFest 2022 are already in the pipeline and the date has been set as Saturday, June 25.
Find out more on the website www.wellifest.com or on their Facebook page.
Sadly I don’t live in Saddleworth anymore(personal reasons) but my daughter & myself never missed it. It was a wonderful day out & I am sure it still is. My lasting memory is winning a bottle of bubbly & drinking ir on the way home & even giving a drink to my daugghter’s pony. .