Another Moonraking Festival has come and gone, and according to many, it was the biggest and best so far. Some people thought that it was too big, with crowds completely filling Carr lane, and having to be accommodated in our overflow areas at each end. In 8 years experience in organising the traffic, I have never seen so many people in Slaithwaite. Many of the traders in the village who stayed open reported massive sales, with some running low on stocks, one selling out completely, and a pub with little or no beer left at the end of the evening.

According to a Kirklees survey, the festival last year brought in £144,000 to the village, with £90,000 coming from 10 miles away or more. I think that this year, that record will have been greatly increased.

Organising the festival is not a two minute job. It starts in March every year with fund raising. You may not know, but the cost of the "free" festival this year was in the region of £33,000. This takes a lot of raising, and we are very grateful to our many sponsors, be it the Arts Council, the National Lottery, Kirklees Council, Community spirit, O.Blackburn, Monsoon, the Green Building Company, Armitage & Co Accountants, NHS Kirklees, Karima Ellis, and lots of others who contributed by throwing money into the bucket collection.

At least once a month in the early part of the year, a group of around 12 people get together and do the organising. This increases to once a fortnight as the half term gets closer. More and more people get involved rising to over a hundred during festival week. most of these are volunteers, giving their help for free. The festival this year had two paid part time organisers, who did a great job.

Cast of Characters.

Venues

• Slaithwaite Community Centre
• Carr Lane Methodist Church
• Colne Valley Leisure Centre
• Little Bridge
• Vanilla Bean
• The Wharfside
• The Swan
• The Watershed

Entertainers and Story tellers

• Taffy Thomas
• Colne Valley Specialist Arts College for Percussion Ensemble and EcCo
• Hi Jinx Magic and Illusion
• Moonraker Band
• Slaithwaite C of E School
• Satellite Arts – Magic Postman
• Belinda O’Hooley and Heidi Tidow
• Christine McMahon
• Rachel Rose Reid
• Rachel Murray
• Ruth Boycott-Garnett

Lantern Workshop Artists and Volunteers

• Artistes - Sky, Euan, Cate, Ruth, Annie, Karima, Ian, Charlotte, Mary and Polly
• Volunteers - Kevin, Gemma, Nicola, Howard, Phil, Hannah, Gerry, Karen, Alan, Clare, Vic, Bill, Imogen.

Finale Artists and Technicians

• Joel Stanley
• Btec Performing Arts Students and A Level Theatre Arts students, Tutors: Paul and Kerry at Huddersfield New College
• Les Clark Puppets
• Hi Jinx Street Act
• Satellite Arts – Post Box
• PEACE Artistes
• Slick Sticks Sambastic
• Hebden Bridge Youth Band
• Slaithwaite Junior Band
• The Dixies
• Noah Burton – Sound Track
• Satellite Arts
• paBoom
• Impossible Theatre
• Space Cadets: Jamima Latimer
• Pif-Paf: Pete Gunson
• Sound Tech
• Rogers Plant Hire: Crane and generator + Andy ‘the crane’
• Mike Barrett of Frogs Design

Hosts

• Sylvia Gibb and Neil Hanson
• Jacqui and Howard Walker

Here are a few organisations without whose help we could not run the festival - not in any order, other than as they come to mind.

• The ladies of various local church and community groups who provide us with delicious cakes to sustain us whilst we are making our lanterns.
• The S.W.E.A.T. Scouts unit and the Holmfirth Mountain Rescue Team who together with the West Yorkshire Police and some local volunteers helped us to steward Carr Lane and the processional route
• British Waterways who allow us to use their canal bank for the show.
• St. John's Ambulance Brigade who provide the medical cover.
• Kirklees Council Planning, Highways, Street lighting who assist with road closures.
• Moxons Traffic Management who provide the road signs for the closure.
• John Radcliffe and Sons who supply the road barriers.
• Northern Rail for letting us use their train and stations.
• Providers of raffle prizes for the Céilidh - Cobweb Antiques, Vanilla Bean. Colne Valley Motor Parts, Bottomleys, Slawit and Golcar Cars.
• Shops hosting "The Aliens" - Studio One, The Salon, Hairs and Graces, M. Roberts books and ??????, Ashbys, Lily of the Valley, Soors, the Launderette, O.Blackburns, Aldreds, White Lace and Vanilla bean, Cobwebs, Chocolate and Gifts, Touch of Beauty, Captains Table, Ray's Car Parts
• Some of our funders: Community Spirit, Area Committee, Arts Council Yorkshire, Kirklees Arts and Creative Economy Team
• Slaithwaite Fire Station - who lend us their yard to set off the fireworks.

Some of the people in Moonraking
Stuart - our Chairman and publicity man. - Gill our Artistic Director - Helen our part time secretary - Richard our minutes secretary - Karima and Rachael our lantern Artistes - Sky who is taking over Karima's Role,- Annie our costume maker, -Jean our volunteer collector,- Ali our treasurer, - Ruth our general factotum (trains and alien hunts for example),- Isi her daughter and assistant,- Ian Wrench our Lantern Technician, his wife Kaye who is our Vice Chairman, Kevin who delivers our leaflets amongst lots of other works, - Vic and Aaron, Paul and Naomi who look after lost children, Our door keepers -Jean, Ali, Linda and Freddy, Steve and Jenny, Oralu Mai, Keith and Margaret, Pam, Nicola and Gemma, Jackie and Marlene and Richard.- Howard, (know also as Mr Moon) who writes our web site and organises the procession.

There are probably lots more that I have not mentioned. Please let me know who I have missed out.

Last but not least, the Villagers of Slaithwaite and all the visitors who flock to moonraking every year to support us and make it all worth doing.

Apologies.

1.Despite the best laid plans, the public toilets were closed. It will not happen again! My fault - Mr Moon

2. For interrupting the flow of traffic for an hour or so.
All but a few of you accepted it in good grace.

3. To Mellany at M Roberts Books And ?????? on Britannia Road, who was doing a brilliant job selling Moonraking Bags - sorry that replacement stocks did not arrive as fast as we would have liked - though we did get them there in the end.

4. To Big Len (an original Marsden Cuckoo now resident in Slawit) who takes issue with the Moonraking Story as portrayed on this web site. Sorry Len, but we Slawit Moonrakers can and do laugh at ourselves just as much as the Marsden Cuckoos, the Linfit Lead boilers and the Golcar Lilies

5. To Gerry who wanted to adopt Mr Moon as her Grandad - Please ask in 2010 when I'm old enough?

Mr Moon, an original Golcar Lily is pleased to say that he has resided in Slawit for 31 years, and is serving his time as a "comer in". He hopes shortly to become a pukka Moonraker.