THIS year was again another fantastic year for the annual Altrincham Festival and I am very grateful for all the letters and e-mails that I have received from so many people.

The Altrincham Festival brings so much to Trafford and it is, without doubt, what the people look forward to each year.

I would like to thank all the charities and businesses including P.A.D. Logistics & J. Davidsons together with the local groups, and organisations who entered the grand parade and lined the route in their thousands. It was an incredible sight to see and it shows how much it means to the people.

The Grange Road and Grange Avenue area was the busiest I have ever seen it in my 25 years of being involved in the Altrincham Festival so again thank you for your support on the day.

The Festival Show had such a lot going on all day including the Reel Time Stunt Show and the Birds of Prey, which I hope you enjoyed as we try very hard to bring new activities for you to enjoy.

We had a fun-filled day with such a large crowd who were all over the showground and it was a great sight to see all these people just having fun and enjoying a relaxing day.

We should also remember that an event as big as this would not be possible without my small team of dedicated Altrincham Festival committee members who are Rosalinda, David, Gill, Dawn and Julian. They helped to plan this event from last November to book the acts and attractions for you on the day, and this includes Abi in the music area, where local talent have an opportunity to perform on the day.

We must also thank Trafford Council very much for the help and advice that they provide and to Sarah for doing a fantastic job organising the big litter clean up at the end of the day, also to take this opportunity to thank all the marshals who helped on the parade and the showground as an event like this would not happen without their help.

And to Altrincham Rotary who are always ready to help on the day each year and this is so important.

We also had other groups and friends who played a part in the success of the Altrincham Festival.

Next year the date will be July 2, please make a date in your diary when we will endeavour to bring the best entertainment for you again.

And to Sale and Altrincham Messenger and to Wendy at the Sale, Hale & Altrincham Handbook together with all our Twitter friends not forgetting the support we received from the police, including PC 9272 Geoffrey Donley and his team who worked to create a safe environment for all of us at the event.

A BIG Thank You to you and all the people who have supported the Altrincham Festival and came out to support us in providing us all with the Biggest Free Show in Trafford

See you next year

Tony Fishwick

Altrincham Festival Chairman