River festival proves wet but still popular (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

River festival proves wet but still popular

A DOWNPOUR put a bit of a dampener on Melksham's Spring Festival at the weekend but it proved popular enough for organisers to start planning for next year.

Despite the rain the event, planned to highlight the riverbank area and its future uses, still attracted several hundred visitors.

Organiser Nicki Coyne, from Melksham 1st, said: "Until the rain came down it was wonderful. It was really starting to buzz.

"We all felt it was successful enough to start planning for next year's event."

The event was organised by the Melksham 1st group to help establish how the River Avon running through the town can be best used.

Stallholders offered a variety of goods and a range of arts and crafts were on display.

Boat trips organised by the Wilts and Berks Canal Trust allowed people to enjoy a closer look at the river and the rain failed to put off canoeists who were also making the most of the waterway.

Visitors who preferred to remain onshore enjoyed entertainments including Irish dancing, singers and birds of prey.

There is a special conference about the river at the Assembly Hall on April 22.