A popular east Suffolk community festival will be back in August after being cancelled last year when funding streams "dried up".
Sax Fest will return on Friday, August 9 and Saturday, August 10 at the Memorial Field in Rendham Road, in Saxmundham, promising a "broad spectrum" of music, including folk and rock.
Last year's cancellation came just a year after the festival had returned in 2022 following an enforced two-year hiatus due to the Covid pandemic and the lockdowns.
READ MORE: Saxmundham Community Festival cancelled due to funding gap
The 2022 spectacular had been able to go ahead thanks to a £6,000 grant from the National Lottery Community Fund, but last year this money went to "other more urgent economic causes" – meaning the free-of-charge event was unable to proceed.
The festival's director Terry Barrow was delighted the event was returning this summer.
He said: "Despite the issues and setbacks we have come across with things like Covid, cost-of-living, location and grant funding, we could not miss out on another year. Our community needs us."
The festival has also been selected by supermarket giant Tesco for its Stronger Starts blue tokens scheme, which will provide support to organisers.
READ MORE: Sax Community Festival organisers seek 2024 return
Shoppers visiting the chain's stores in Saxmundham, Aldeburgh and Diss can request blue tokens for charity at the till and then drop them in the box for the charity they would like to receive a £1,500 grant.
Grant funding for the festival has already been secured from Saxmundham Town Council, East Suffolk Council and Suffolk County Council for the event's return.
The festival will feature performances from local musicians, workshops, arts and fringe events – while community organisations will also be present to offer advice on education, finance and health and wellbeing.
A fundraising page has also been set up on the crowdfunder website.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here