THE First Aid Music Festival in Okehampton in two weeks' time will be one of the biggest events of its kind in the UK this year.

News that top acts will be coming to the town to perform has been greeted with great excitement amongst residents and business people.

A festival of this nature, which will feature chart bands The Honeyz and Damage, all-round entertainer Rolf Harris and Prince Charles' favourite The Three Degrees to mention just a few, would normally take 12 months — but this miracle has occurred in just four weeks and the town has been left astonished!

Special festival menus are being created in the town's cafes and restaurants and shops, which have traditionally closed on Bank Holiday Monday are opening up to trade on the back of the festival.

Jeweller William Cornish said he was even postponing his holiday to be part of the festival and his shop would be opening on the bank holiday for the first time since 1888.

'I give my full support to the organising committee — I think it is quite incredible what has been achieved in such a short space of time.

'It really is a colossal undertaking to organise a festival of this size and I wish them every success,' he said.

'For several months now Okehampton has been associated with the bleaker side of life — well now it will be known for a different reason.'

Part funded by the South West Regional Development Agency, the First Aid Music Festival will raise money for the community which has been devastated by the foot and mouth crisis.

As well as bringing a smile back to the faces of the local people, the festival aims to help those who have fallen through the compensation net such as local businesses and accommodation providers who have lost up to 100 per cent of their turnover.

The team of three behind the festival are Chamber of Trade chairman Ian Bailey, Okehampton Times office manager Suzanne Watt and owner of Teazles Jean Swift. They all have contacts in the music, entertainment and catering industries and have experience of organising events.

Jean, who is in control of the catering, on-site facilities and town entertainment said she always believed it could be done. Being a farmer's daughter she was hugely motivated by the cause.

'When Ian phoned me and said the festival was for foot and mouth I had no hesitation,' she said. 'Everybody around here has taken such a hammering lately something needed to be done.

'It is very exciting when you think about it but I try not to think too much about how big it is and just get on with it.'

Up to 60,000 people are expected over the three days of the festival and to cater for the crowds there will be approximately 180 portable loos and 120 wheelie bins, 11 marquees and 15 catering pitches.

Two temporary bridges are being built over the river in Simmons Park to create extra entrance/exits in line with health and safety regulations and a temporary roadway is being built to safeguard the park, which will be sectioned off with two-and-a-half kilometres of fencing.

The technical arrangements for the festival and the programme line-up have had considerable input from national production and entertainment management companies FTF Worldwide and Reality Check.

Cliff Stonestreet, who runs FTF Worldwide and has given a lot of his time free of charge to see the festival come to fruition, said in his 25 years experience in the entertainment industry he had never seen anything put together so quickly.

'The contacts we have built up over many many years have all come to our assistance. Because of the cause everybody is rallying around to help in whatever way they can,' he said.

'All the stops have been pulled out to make sure this happens.'

Mr Stonestreet, who was involved with the Duke of Edinburgh's 70th birthday celebrations and the 'River of Fire' New Year's Eve Millennium celebrations in London, said this was one of the largest music festivals in the UK this year and bands and artists were now approaching him to take part in it.

'You only have to look at the line-up to see how big it is — we have got to the stage now where we are having to turn people away.

'When bands start approaching us it is very exciting.'

One of the stars of the festival, Rolf Harris, will be auctioning off a painting that he will create on stage for the First Aid charity and Mr Stonestreet is offering £500 to start the ball rolling.

'Okehampton will have never seen anything like this before and all I ask is a little understanding from people in the run-up to the event,' he said.

'When everything is set up they can make the most of this wonderful opportunity and hopefully we can fill all the campsites, hotels, pubs, tea bars and cafes put some money back into the economy which is what it is all for.'

l For more details about the charity and the festival see page 10 and 11.