Chairperson’s Report

01/04/2022-31/03/2023

AGM 5 th November 2023

The past 12 months of this reporting year, saw us celebrating 55 years of Portaferry Gala Fest, another Galaween and Christmas Light Switch On.

As always, new events were introduced to Gala Fest 2022, with ‘Burger Fest’ being the opening event on Gala Saturday. This event proved very popular with young, old, families, locals and visitors alike with over 1000 tickets being sold on Eventbrite. And the big question for the Gala committee was how to top it for Gala Fest 2023!!

Another new event was ‘Taste Your Town’ a walking tour around 8 of the hospitality businesses. This event was well supported and gave the businesses the opportunity to showcase food and drinks made with local ingredients. It was agreed that this is an event that can be built on with the businesses and Gala Team working together.

Bingo Loco was without doubt one of the weeks successes proving very popular with 160 tickets being sold within 15mins of going live on Eventbrite! Who knew Bingo could be so popular!! A further 40 tickets were released closer to the event and again were sold within minutes. This event received fantastic reviews with requests being made to include in the 2023 programme…..which it was.

Another of the weeks highlights was the Kids Tractor Run, which fit in so well with our Farmers Day on Gala Thursday. Such a simple idea and enjoyed by children, their families and spectators alike.

As everyone is aware, in the past the closing of Gala was with the traditional float parade, which drew huge crowds to the town to enjoy the fabulous displays created by the local bars and their talented teams of ‘float builders’. However due to the fact that the local hospitality businesses were only starting to return to normal trading following COVID and the increasing rise in the cost of materials to build the traditional floats, the Gala Team decided to build on the ‘Talk of the Walk’ event for Gala Fest 2022 and encouraged not just the bars but the local shops, restaurants & cafes to join in with their streets and residents.

Credit has to be given to all the participants and their outstanding creations and performances for our entertainment. There was a real buzz to the town and although different to past years, it was enjoyed by many and was a fantastic end to the week. More consideration needed to be given to this event for 2023. Did it work in the current format? Should estates and individual houses be judged on a different day? Decisions, decisions!!

This is still a work in progress…….

It was great to see a return to other traditional events such as the 10mile race, Sunday at the Shore, Fancy Dress Parade to name a few, these along with the glorious weather made the week a huge success. The Committee made the decision to follow on from the last 2 years precedence on prizes. All prizes were £5 vouchers redeemable in local businesses thus supporting our local economy and appreciated by the winners as such.

2022 was the first full Gala Fest this committee organised and it was a learning curve for us all. I’m not going to lie; at times it wasn’t easy. We got frustrated with one another and had disagreements, but we worked together and had good laughs and, in the end, came through with a Gala Fest that we were very proud of.

The annual Galaween kicked off with a day of family activities ending with a parade to the annual bonfire and fireworks display which were held at a new venue, the old caravan park at the Ropewalk. Both these events were very well supported, and all feedback received regarding the change of venue will be taken on board when planning for this years event.

The annual Christmas light switch on event was also very well attended and it was great to bring a bit of life to the town being entertained with Christmas Carols by the children from St Mary’s PS and the Integrated PS while Santa arrived in style on a decorated tractor and trailer. Christmas themed Arts Crafts were also available for the children to enjoy.

Now I’d like to share some thoughts and answer a few questions about Gala Fest 2023!

Gala Fest 2023 was planned, organised and produced by a team of 5 directors and 7 committee members, with added help from 10 volunteers at various events. This is a very small team of people, many of whom also work full time!

This year, due to a change in Council Funding, the Gala Committee were awarded £15,000, a decrease in £10,000 from previous years. This meant that the team had to decide how to spend the money wisely to ensure a full week of activities was provided within the new budget. So people have been asking why there was no Gala stage this year? The facts behind this decision were…..

• To hire a stage for the week costs £3,000 plus the committee must man the stage overnight to ensure it comes to no harm.

• Insurance for the week costs approximately another £3,000.

• Hire of the Community Centre for the week as an indoor venue should the weather be unkind, costs another £1,500.

So, due to the cost, after much deliberation, the decision was made not to hire a stage this year – we used venues with a stage such as Community Centre for Bonny Baby and Portico for Kids Got Talent, plus we had a small stage assembled in the square for a few events also.

Further funding was secured later in the year, however this money was awarded solely to help with the cost of running the opening event, ‘Around the World in One Day’ and ‘Talk of the Walk’.

The other thing that numerous people have been speaking of and taking to Facebook to voice their opinion on is ‘Gala needs to bring back the floats!’ Firstly I would say that Gala didn’t arrange/organise the floats, the businesses and non-pub participants did. Gala didn’t fund the floats, the businesses and non-pub participants did this themselves too. Therefore bringing back the floats is not a decision the Gala Committee can make. To date, no business or residents has approached the committee to say that they want to go back to a float parade, in fact those businesses and local residents who have participated in ‘Talk of the Walk’ have enjoyed the experience and the ‘street floaters’ are already talking about ideas for next year.

Gala Fest 2023 was definitely a challenge with the uncertainty of receiving any funding; then receipt of reduced funding; the unpredictable weather but mostly due to pressures on the small number of volunteers who made the week possible. It wasn’t easy and we did make mistakes – we argued, we shouted, we walked away and took a breather a few times to gather ourselves before returning to face another event, but we also had a laugh and supported one another to pull together another successful Gala Fest.

To recap – What I’m trying to say is, Gala doesn’t just happen. It is the result of twelve months investment of time, expertise, and a huge commitment by a small group of dedicated volunteers alongside financial support from Ards and North Down Borough Council, funders and the local businesses.

So our biggest ask this year is that we need more people to come on board, whether it be to help out for 1 event, 1 day or be part of the orgainsing team. For Gala to successfully continue we need YOU!!

Finally I would like to thank our outgoing committee, volunteers and those who helped and supported in anyway for their generosity, time and commitment and we look forward to seeing you all for the incoming year!

Chairperson - Patricia O’Neill

Date - 27/09/2023