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Jo Taylor, the Rochford Arts Festival Co-ordinator, a freelance marketing and communications expert, has been working with Rochford Parish Council and a number of other organisations to bring this year’s Arts Festival into being, and helped us sum it up:

• Work started on it in March and so it has needed nearly six months to bring into being. Parish Councillor Barry Fox said, “It has been six months of hard work but good to be involved with.”

• Planning was almost from scratch because much of the information from previous years was no longer available. Vice Chair of the Council, Councillor Jo McPherson, explained that after the District Council had stepped back from funding a while ago, the Art Trail had taken a smaller form but with outside funding help this year, Jo and her team have created a bigger and better event in the form of the Festival which has more participants and more activities. It was rebranded it to give it a lift and enable it to grow.

 This year’s festival appears bigger and better with an amazing 47 artists and 36 venues.

 The team, including members from the Parish Council, have been working with three different schools – Rochford Primary, Chase High and King Edmunds, plus various other organisations such as the Rochford Photographic Society, Roche Art Group, Open Arts, Trust Links, etc.

 The Festival has been sponsored by Caremark and the Rochford Rotary Club whose finances have enabled the festival to happen.

 Trustlinks, a substantial local charity, have been a major player this year, hosting the Opening Event at their Rocheway premises.

 The Launch event was opened on the 12th, by the Chairman of Rochford District Council, councillor Robin Dray, while the invited crowd comprising helpers and artists and invited dignitaries looked on.

Having observed the observers it is interesting as an observer to note the three groups of people who have been involved in making such a festival a possibility:

• The artists themselves - this is about them, their abilities and their works of art.
• The planners who have drawn them all together,
• The finance backers, who have provided resources that has enabled publicity etc.

Finally, for the end outcome to be deemed ‘successful’ it needs you and me, the public who will go along, observe and express appreciation. Let’s do that.