NOT even heavy showers could dampen the enthusiasm of festival goers at the weekend as thousands of music fans flocked into Coleford town centre.

The reggae and ska headliners on Saturday and Sunday (July 22 to 23) left the crowds baying for more at the annual Coleford Music Festival, which was relaunched in 2015 after an eight-year break.

And town mayor and co-organiser Nick Penny said: “It was a fantastic weekend, I’ve had nothing but positive feedback from those who attended.

“It was great to see the crowds continue to support the bands, despite the forecast and some heavy downpours.

“We know Coleford people like a bit of reggae and ska and the headliners, Bob Marley tribute band Legend on Saturday and ska outfit Maroon Town on Sunday, had everyone dancing, singing and cheering.

“On Saturday night in the square, I reckon we had up to 1600 for Legend and probably more than 1000 on Sunday night for Maroon Town.

“It’s fantastic as town mayor and a festival organiser to see so many people enjoying themselves in the town centre, brought together by great music from local and nationally known bands, workshops and street performers.

“For me, some of the highlights were local bands Bob Smith and the Hickory Stick Boys, the Don Fox Scandal and The Rumble, which goes to show there’s a vibrant and growing local music scene.

“When we relaunched in 2015, we didn’t really know what to expect locally, but now there are festivals popping up all over the place in the Forest as the local scene grows, perhaps in part down to the Coleford festival.”

The event, which was 50 per cent funded by the town council, costs £48,000 to put on and organisers would still like people to donate if they missed the bucket collections at the weekend.

“We had a good collection with more than £3,300 collected in the buckets, up 27 per cent on last year, including a £50 note from one punter, which was just amazing,” added Cllr Penny.

“With other donations, we’re up to £5,500, which is over half way to our start up target of £10,000 for next year’s festival, but anyone who missed the bucket collection, please go to our website where there is a Go Fund me link, and give us a donation so we can put on another great event in 2018.

“A fantastic team of around 30 organisers and volunteers really pulled together to put this on, so a massive thanks to them. It’s exhausting, but just amazing to see the town centre come alive like this. It’s a great location in front of the Clock Tower for the main stage, a natural amphitheatre.

“Coleford has developed a fantastic reputation for town centre events, and they’re putting the town on the map.”

To support the festival, go to www.gofundme.com/4uu3q-cmf-2017