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Elusive festival celebritymay visit
From the Swindon Advertiser, first published Thursday 2nd Sep 2004.
Blonde pin-up and Hell's Kitchen winner Jennifer Ellison may yet visit Chippenham to meet her fans, to make-up for her non-appearance at North Wiltshire Festival 2004.
The former Brookside star, who won new fans when she survived Gordon Ramsay's arduous celebrity kitchen experience, was supposed to appear at the festival on July 17.
But she left festival organisers in the lurch when she failed to turn up without any explanation and North Wiltshire District Council has made a claim for compensation.
Festival lead member Coun Ross Henning said Ms Ellison might come to Chippenham after all at some date in the future to make up for the disappointment felt by fans.
"We are in discussion with the management agency and trying to find out why she didn't turn up.
"It seems the agent did not tell her about the engagement here. We are looking for some kind of compensation as we built up a lot of the festival publicity around her coming.
"Perhaps she might be able to come at some date in the future to help us promote something, instead of financial compensation, but first a decision has to be made about the future of the festival."
Ms Ellison's representative at management company Neon Publishing was unavailable to comment on the proposal.
A decision on the future of the two-yearly North Wiltshire Festival will be made at a meeting of the executive committee today.
A full report on this year's event has been put together by festival project leader Graham Wilson with a recommendation for the members to agree to staging the festival in 2006 and then every two years after.
They will also decide whether to continue the festival board and nominate a lead member to the chair.
Coun Henning said he hoped the committee would endorse the recommendations and said he had thrown his hat in the ring to continue in his leading role. He said: "It is a community event and for the most part paid for by sponsorship, and it brings everybody together businesses, councils, voluntary groups.
"This year it was a magnificent event and we haven't heard any serious criticisms. There are a few minor details we could improve but they are easily done."
Coun Henning wants to see the festival become an integral part of the operation of the district council, giving organisers plenty of time to get it up and running.
The district council's consultation after the 2004 event generated a very positive response on the whole.
All the exhibitors who responded to a questionnaire said they would attend a future festival.
District council staff feedback suggested more toilets were needed and called for better signage.
Sponsors gave the thumbs up to the village and modular system and the business breakfast but suggested there should be more children's activities and better working with schools.
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