As part of their initial training Community Reporters in Wensleydale asked each other "Why do you want to be a Community Reporter?". Here Margaret Knight tells Sue Dewhirst what motivated her.
Food, Farming and Family fun in the Dales.
Founder of the Leyburn Food and Drink Festival and Chairwoman of registered charity the Leyburn and Mid Wensleydale Partnership Ltd, Margaret Knight, joins the iSABEL project and adds her ambition to become a Community Reporter, to her many achievements.
It is testament to Margaret’s vision and tenacity that the Leyburn Food and Drink Festival, the event in every Dalesman’s diary, will this year, celebrate its 11th year on the 5th the 6th and 7th of May.
The Festival hosts over 70 food stalls including this year, special guest and one of Britain’s only two Garlic producers ‘The Garlic Farm,’ travelling all the way from the Isle of Wight. There will be 20 guest beers in the Real Ale Marquee, free cookery and ‘Farming for Food’ demonstrations, a children’s funfair, live Jazz and Brass band music and not forgetting ‘Speakers Corner’, this year welcoming Gervase Phinn.
The charity formed in 2001 as part of the Foot and Mouth Recovery Project and Margaret has been instrumental in helping this fantastic enterprise to flourish. Visitor numbers in past years have exceeded 18,000, over the three days. The 2012 festival promises to be an equally special event.
Margaret is keen to stress however, that beyond the obvious successes of the Bank Holiday upsurge in footfall to Leyburn, lies an even greater success story-the emergence of The Community Fund, which is where all the proceeds of the festival go- as Margaret explains this is what prompted her to join the iSABEL project:
"I decided to do the course, as I believe that it will mean I have a useful skill to let people know not just about the Festival, but also about the Community Fund. This fund is shared amongst a variety of community projects and, since it began in 2004, has donated approx £140,000 around the area. Although recipients of the awards are aware of the benefits, I'm not sure that the general public are. I hope that putting articles in local magazines, the new community web site, and maybe getting some information on local radio stations, it may spread the word to a wider audience."
So make a note on your calendars and come and witness for yourself this recession-bucking feast of food, farming and family fun.
Sue Dewhurst