Our inaugural event in 2009 saw an estimated 4000+ visitors to the village from far and wide, in 2010 we built upon this success, whilst making it even more of a community event.

The 2010 programme consisted of a brief opening ceremony, featuring the Lord Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent Cllr Denver Tolley, and our special guest George Berry, who hosted the event throughout the day. The afternoon featured three bands playing a variety of musical styles, with Alvin providing fantastic sax breaks during set up of each band. Funding from the city council was supplemented by sponsorship by Puffing Devil, and Barry & Elizabeth Carver.

The programme additionally featured a further 15 bands playing in the villages 5 public houses, the bands were provided thanks again to funding from the city council with additional sponsorship from each of the public houses.

In 2009 £1000 was raised for our nominated charity the Donna Louise Trust. For 2010 the ‘Heart of Penkhull Appeal’, raising money for improvement of the parish church, was the charity. The church fete was held to coincide with the Festival enabling fundraising throughout the event by church volunteers.

The initial feedback received for 2010 has all been positive, supporting the decisions made to focus on the event on the village green. The new structure was intended to make the Festival a more identifiable community event, and this certainly seemed successful. Initial thoughts are that we can further build on this part of the event, tweeking the timing to further build upon the successes of 2010.

The committee for 2010 consisted of a small team of volunteers, almost all Penkhull residents, emphasising the ‘by the community for the community’ ethos. The committee are all volunteers who donate their time and effort freely, the only reward is the satisfaction of seeing a successful event; this year was very rewarding! We hope there are a few people out there who may wish to join us assist in building the future of a regular community event for Penkhull. Volunteers to add to the committee or to help in any way should contact Barry via info@penkhulljazz.co.uk

As many services as possible are sourced from Penkhull and it’s near locale, e.g. printing, staging, PA etc. We will look to build on this for the third annual event, the date for which has been set as 23 July 2011. As we are a free festival the format is largely dictated by available funding; now this year’s festival is over sponsors will be sought for next year’s event; sponsors will have their information displayed in venues and on all promotional material, including the website, and flyers. Any additional requirements will be met wherever possible. If you are interested in sponsoring the event please contact us via info@penkhulljazz.co.uk

Again the intention is that the main funding requirement will be for the extended community programme on the green. We will require staging, PA system, both of which will need to be undercover to guard against inclement weather. Insurance and costs associated with road closures will need to be covered, as will the costs for the entertainers in the afternoon, and printing of information leaflets regarding the event and other promotional costs in advance of the day.