Since the festival in July last year
I have been struggling with thoughts on the future of the festival.
Last years unexpected poor attendance mostly due to the terrible summer combined with funding problems has left the Festival with a very low reserve. Then the collapse of Northern Rock
put the possibility of further funding into jeopardy.

The festival has been running for 18 years
and every year becomes more costly to stage, in the beginning it was easy for volunteers to put in their time for free but the sheer amount of work involved just in the physical setting up of festival with the size it has become is more than one can ask of volunteers and has to be paid for.

The festival has had good funding over the past 3 years
enabling us to employ more help, pay musicians better,
commission new works and bring over musicians over from the continent.

But now a 3 year contract from Cumbria Vision has finished.
There is some disappointment on my part that after 18 years
the Arts Council have never offered core funding to the festival
and money from them is a lottery.
These uncertainties make running the festival at the same level
look increasingly difficult without a great deal of work being done
to acquire a new funding base.

Quite frankly, I have done this sort of funding application work for 18 years now, have never enjoyed doing it but have always seen it as a necessary evil.

Since the festival this year
I have not had the energy or motivation
to start another round of searching for funds.
So I have come to the decision
NOT to run
The Appleby JAZZ FESTIVAL
in 2008
and spend the year trying to work out where we go from here.

I know that this will be a great disappointment to many people not least the Friends of Appleby who have supported the festival so well over the years.

A great thank you to you all,
I have enjoyed meeting many of you over the years and listening to some of the best live music there is today with you.
Lets hope we can sort something out for the future.

Neil Ferber
Festival Organiser