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07
Mar
Harrogate competitive festival gets underway amid uncertain future
A competitive arts and music festival is set to start this weekend in Harrogate, despite saying it is facing “uncertainty".
The Harrogate Competitive Festival for Music, Speech and Drama has been providing schoolchildren with the opportunity to showcase their talents for almost 90 years.
The festival, which will be hosted at Harrogate High School and has attracted almost 1200 entries this year, will start today (March 7) and last for three weekends. It will come to a head on Sunday, March 23, when the winning competitors will perform in a final concert.
The Stray Ferret spoke to two members of the festival committee, Amelia Urukalo and Derek Starling, who told us about the festival and what it means to the community.
Ms Urukalo explained how important the festival was to young aspiring musicians and actors.
She said:
It means so much for the confidence building of the kids. The festival gives them a sense of achievement and something to work towards, which they don’t always get otherwise.
Although only a select few go through to the finals, every kid gets individual feedback and a certificate from the adjudicators.
It’s really good for development too. Some of the previous winners of the competitions have now gone on to drama school or to perform on the West End.
The fact that such an important festival is in Harrogate is so good for the town and we really want it to continue.
An uncertain future
Ms Urukalo joined the committee as a publicity officer to help promote the festival. Since covid, the entry numbers have dwindled, and the festival finds itself in an increasingly difficult financial situation.
The committee has increased to 15 members in an attempt to help rekindle the enthusiasm for the long-standing event.
But, Mr Starling said running costs for the festival were high. He said:
It’s not cheap to put on a festival. It would usually cost around £20,000 to run each year.
We have to pay the school to use the premises, the adjudicators, and the printing costs amongst other things.
We don’t currently charge much for tickets but there’s a possibility that that may have to change; everything has become so much more expensive.
In 2020, the overall expenditure to run the festival was £13,648, leaving the committee with an £800 surplus. Last year, it had risen to £21,754, and they had lost £4,500.
Until 2016, the council helped to fund the festival, but since then the funding has been cut.
Mr Starling told us that they were very lucky to have received a £10,000 legacy a few years ago from someone’s will, but that the money they are losing each year is now coming out of their reserve.
He warned that if their financial situation continues at the same rate, then the festival may only have until 2028 before it is forced to dissolve.
Hope for the future
It is not all dark skies for the competitive festival, though.
Entry levels went down after covid but have since been on the rise. Mr Starling told us that the entries are increasing on average by about 10% per year, and that they were beginning to get back to pre-pandemic levels.
He said that this year’s event has had entries from about 100 new people, proving that it is becoming increasingly popular again.
Harrogate and Knaresborough MP, Tom Gordon, has also lent his support for the festival in parliament, and told the committee that he would promote the festival to people he thought could help.
Mr Starling explained that he has three daughters, all of whom massively benefitted from the competitive festival. He said:
It helps them with their musical and drama skills, but it also helps them to be confident people and to stand up for themselves.
Year on year you can see the competitors blossom. Some come already confident, but some come really shy, and gain a new confidence from it afterwards.
It’s great for life skills and it would be a real shame to lose it.
Around 80 volunteers will help to run 173 classes along the course of three weekends.
If you would like to donate to the festival or buy a ticket, please click here.
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