Festival organisers 'confident' it will go ahead

Clun Green Man Festival draws on myths, fairy tales and folklore

The chair of a festival celebrating the arrival of spring is "very, very confident" it will be held next year, after organisers warned it faced being cancelled due to a shortage of volunteers.

Clun Green Man Festival, which usually takes place over the early May bank holiday in the Shropshire town, draws on myths, fairy tales and folklore.

Following an announcement on social media, an emergency meeting was successful and people attending had "a wide range of skill sets among them", new chairman Steve Mapes said.

The festival attracted up to 4,000 tourists and provided a "really positive economic boost" for the town, he said.

Last month, committee member Jack Limond said just two people came to the last annual general meeting.

On Monday, Mr Mapes said "we were on a knife edge" of not having enough such members to carry out "all of the many, many jobs".

But at the emergency meeting that followed, there were "possibly about a dozen attendees alongside what remained of the committee", he added.

'A lot to get through'

Those who attended possessed skills "from accountants to marketing and fundraising [and] people who have been involved in festival infrastructure for other festivals".

They also included "people who perform and book music on a regular basis".

Mr Mapes said: "Perhaps not [as] the Green Man Festival itself, but there has been a May Day festival for decades in Clun.

"It's an opportunity for all of the community to come together and enjoy entertainment and pageantry.

"We've got a lot to get through in order to comfortably get everyone up to speed, but we're very, very confident that we'll be able to put on an event in 2026."

He pointed out visitors stayed in "our holiday cottages and our Airbnbs" and put money into local pubs and cafes.

Mr Mapes added in terms of volunteers on the day, the event was "always on the lookout for stewards and volunteers".