 Just
before going to press, we received the following statement from
Open Source Productions.
‘Stokefest 2006 will not be taking place on Sunday 11 June
as planned, because Hackney Council do not have a premises licence
in place for Clissold Park. Open Source Productions, the festival
organisers, are looking at alternative dates in September. Open
Source Productions thank all volunteers, artists, businesses and
community organisations for their hard work and continued support’
So after all these months of unpaid effort from the volunteers,
it appears that one of the summer’s highlights has been destroyed
by the apparent incompetence and negligence of Council officials.
We asked Hackney Council for their comments. Councillor Jamie Carswell
replied: 'The Council did not apply for a public entertainment license
in time for Stokefest to take place on 10th/11th June. We
have apologised unreservedly to the organisers for this error and
other affected parties, such as local businesses, and are working
very closely with them to make sure the festival can take place
at a later date this summer… it is highly likely that the
festival would have to have been postponed anyway, due to the constant
heavy rainfall over the past weeks’.
 So
not just a local council but a weather forecaster as well. Let’s
hope that September keeps dry and that Stokefest can go ahead. At
least the Council apologised, but it’s astonishing that such
an apparently simple procedure can go unnoticed and wreck the hard
work of not-for-profit, community-oriented people.
Follow developments on www.stokefest.co.uk and
www.n16mag.com.
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