It was a day “to celebrate all that’s good about Cranbrook”, and it lived up to its description.
The group who organised Cranbrook Festival on Saturday, June 29 said they were "over the moon" with the success of the event.
Residents came out in force to the grounds of the Cranberry Farm pub on Saturday, June 29, to enjoy live music, children's entertainment, stalls, and special 'festival' food laid on by the pub.
The annual event marking the day the first turf was cut to build Cranbrook has been held since 2015, but this year's was the first to be called a festival, and it was the biggest and most successful yet.
Reverend Lythan Nevard from the organising group said: "There were so many people there, and I know that lots of the stalls did really well. The music was fantastic and the staging was great.
"I loved the balloons donated by our local Annie's Balloons, who also ran the bouncy castle. The Tae Kwon Do presentation was fab. Everyone from the beginners upwards was able to participate and some of their routines were set to music!
"It really felt that lots of different groups came together to make the day a success - the pub and Hall and Woodhouse in providing special festival food; those who came to steward - some did that almost non-stop from 9:30 to 6pm. And we especially appreciated the support from Otter Valley Rotary; the sponsorship from Complete and Linden Homes; the developers for letting us use their car park, the list goes on."
The amount raised for charity has not all been collected yet, but at least £500 was raised for Devon Air Ambulance and the Devon Freewheelers. Cranbrook Town Council had a stall raising money for its charity of the year, Action for Children.
Reverend Nevard added: "When I look at pictures of the day I just feel joy! We will be debriefing in a few weeks and starting to plan for next year. We want to get a date in place as soon as possible, and make a few tweaks so it is even bigger and better next year."
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