A PLEA for help was last week issued by organisers of one of Tavistock?s biggest events, in order to keep the annual favourite from being taken out of the area. Tavistock Balloon Fiesta, incorporating the popular Day at the Races, is held during the August Bank Holiday weekend and is run by the town?s Round Table and Lions clubs. But the organisations were forced to cancel the event last year due to problems with gas suppliers. During a presentation to Tavistock Town Council last week, members heard it was all systems go for this summer?s event ? but a question mark was hanging over future fiestas due to financial issues. Colin Piper, of Tavistock Round Table, said it would not be possible to get commercial sponsorship of the event to the level required, and remain in Tavistock. He said: ?Tavistock doesn?t have a big enough population. ?We have been approached by somebody who wants to be a commercial sponsor ? but we think they want to take it somewhere else. ?We enjoy doing it, we want to keep it here, we have a great deal of fun, but we have got to a point where we need help to keep it here.? Tavistock Lions member David Inman said: ?This year, we are spending our balances which have built up. The event is weather-dependant and we have to be careful about these balances because at some time, we are going to get a bum year.? Mr Inman said he hoped the town council could consider becoming partners in the event, by providing underpinning finance to the tune of around £4,000 to £5,000 each year. Even by spending balances to stage the event this year, organisers were still around £1,500 short. Lions member Peter Harding said the fiesta attracted attention from local, regional and national media, putting Tavistock well and truly on the map. ?We attract up to 10,000 people to the town for the weekend and they don?t just go to the event, they go into Tavistock too. ?We support local organisations, we have raised funds for organisations like the Youth Café and Crowndale Recreational Association.? Cllr Jane Ramsey said the fiesta was ?wonderful, brilliant and picturesque? but she was concerned at the ?indefinable? financial demands being made on the council. Cllr Mandy Govier said the town council had underwritten the fiesta in 2003 and on that occasion, due to the success of the event, the money was not required. ?Although ours is the third largest fiesta in the country, we are definitely the poorest!? she said. ?I think we need to give every bit of support we can and maybe look into helping, as we did the skatepark.? Cllr Anne Johnson, chairman of the council?s finance committee, said she was ?very keen? to support the event and asked that accounts and a full budget be submitted to the council, so it can consider the financial request at a future meeting.
