The Garlic Festival Lives On

Thanks to the efforts of a small group of Islanders the 2006 Isle of Wight Garlic Festival will go ahead. They have formed a new Company called The Garlic Festival Ltd. to run the festival and will continue the good works started by the Newchurch Parish Sports & Community Association (NPS&CA). The new organisers will distribute a share of the profits raised by the festival to local charities and voluntary groups in the true spirit of the event. The Garlic Festival Ltd. recognizes the success the Newchurch Parish Sports & Community Association has achieved over the past 21 years and will continue to develop the attractions available at the Garlic Festival to produce a quality event. Plans for 2006 include a specialty food theme, which will showcase island producers. The new company has been formed by a team of local residents David Holmes, Nick Ward from Island Marquees, Colin Boswell from The Garlic Farm, with Rosemarie Norman who has been the principle organiser of the festival for 8 years. This new team has extensive and varied experience of managing this type of project. Andrew Turner, the Island’s MP is a longstanding supporter of the Festival and says: "The Garlic Festival is always an enjoyable family day out and provides an important fundraising opportunity for many Island charities – for some the two day event is one of their major sources of income. Since my election in 2001 I have taken a stand at the Festival as it is a useful opportunity to find out what local people are thinking. I am extremely pleased that the Garlic Festival will be going ahead this year and look forward to seeing this key event in the Island's summer season continue to thrive."