Hey all,

Firstly I want to extend a HUGE thank you to all the Heeley Trust staff and volunteers for their time and hard work on the day. It was a beautiful day for our first festival in nearly two years. Without their help and dedication the festival would not have been the same. There are many more to thank but I shall get to that later.

We have for a while thought that perhaps we could not do another festival, that the cost would be too great and we could not have shouldered the weight of the financial aftermath. Its no secret that any festival, community or commercial, costs. Our weight is people power, long nights spent working and sweating over the little details. Its hire costs and fees and its a battle. It all adds up and as a Charity its difficult. This year things had to be different, we had to offer our neighbourhood a different festival. And while it may have looked similar, this festival was one of the first that began to grow the connections, sponsors and friends we need to carry on. Its similar in many ways to our community. We want to help grow our local economy out, help our friends and make new ones on the way. The Festival provided grounds to do so. Its imperative that we connect and grow. Only together can we make the future better.

Our outcome was extremely positive, we we able to provide our community a truly honest festival that was free. Its almost impossible today to do that. For that we are proud of our work. It means that next year we can grow it a step further. The offer for you will be greater. Our budget, although small, may provide more and appeal to more. This week we aimed to sit down and debrief. What worked? What didn’t? The first thing we all said was; “There needs to be a next year”.

So this year was about everyone. Big Boulder is a festival that we can all get behind. In the back ground the donations go to keeping Heeley Peoples park alive and maintained. It keeps a young Parkie employed. It keeps the play equipment safe and the grass cut. The festival provides so much more than whats on the front and the Boulder is one we call have to climb, daily.

I have so many thank yous from this year its hard to write them all down.

James Singleton – Beefstock audio & sound

Heeley Trust

John Collen – SoundstageOne

Fox In the Box

Sunshine Pizza

Motore Coffee

Livvy’s Ice Cream

The Artists all need to stand up and be counted. Every single one of them have been a pleasure to work with. We cannot thank them enough for their commitment to the festival.

A special thank you has to go to Paul Littlewood and Higher Rhythm for their help and contribution to the Breakthrough Stage. They have a dedication to music old and new that is unrivalled. They are the reason we were able to offer so much.

All thats left to say is watch out for September 2019. We’ll see you then. In the meantime watch out for ‘Institute Live’ shows and for performances in Heeley Peoples Park. We’ll be back.

Thank you all, its been a ride.

Frank Forman