Popular music event is scrapped due to Covid
A music festival which attracts hundreds of young people has been cancelled this year.
The Oswestry Youth Music Festival has been running for more than four decades and is an important date in the calendar for many schools and private music teachers, giving pupils the chance to perform in a competition.
Youth choirs, bands and orchestras also take part year upon year with the event staged in local churches.
In recent years such has been the festival’s success that it has grown into a four-day event, culminating in a winner of winners competition.
This year, the festival was to have been held in the last week in February and changes had been made to follow strict Covid security guidelines.
However the committee that runs the event, in conjunction with Oswestry Town Council, has announced that it will not be held this year.
Festival organiser Sue Turner said: “It is with great regret that we have decided to cancel this year’s festival. Although we had worked very hard to implement a festival that was Covid safe, the current risk is just too great for us to risk proceeding.
“The current syllabus will remain unchanged for 2022, so there is now plenty of time to plan ahead.”
The festival goes back to the Queen’s Silver Jubilee celebrations of 1977 when the first event was held in the town. It is now well established and entries are attracted from Shropshire, Cheshire, Wrexham and North and Mid Wales.
The overall winners last year were Harry Fradley and Molly Fry.
Those who have entered the festival can get full refunds of their entrance fee by contacting Oswestry Town council on 01691 680222.
“We look forward to happier and healthier times ahead and we hope that 2022 will bring about another wonderful festival,” Sue added.
