WinterFest now too big to rely solely on volunteers, say Cllrs

Organising WinterFest is too big a task for volunteers only, according to local councillors.

Speaking at the November meeting of Mullingar Kinnegad Municipal District, Cllr John Shaw paid tribute to the team of volunteers who have managed to establish WinterFest as one of most popular Christmas themed events in the country.

However, the Fianna Fáil man said that when the event returns to the town – it has been cancelled this year due to Covid-19 – more funding needs to provided to ensure that the “proper support structures” are in place to ensure that some of the problems experienced last year are not repeated.

He added that up to now a lot of the work has fallen on hard working members of the community, but now WinterFest is “too big to be run by volunteers”.

“Unfortunately it’s not happening this year, but hopefully it will be back next year. I would like to see it properly financed and resourced to help it improve and grown over the next number of years,” he said.

Cllr Ken Glynn said that WinterFest has become a “huge event for the midlands” attracting thousands of people into Mullingar over the before and after Christmas. While it is unfortunate that it is not taking place, he said that it gives everyone involved a chance to “redouble our efforts next year”. Cllr Aoife Davitt said that everyone has seen the positive impact that WinterFest has had on the local economy.

She said that associated events such as Christmas story telling in Mullingar library featuring local authors have helped showcase what Westmeath has to offer.

The cathaoirleach of the Municipal District of Mullingar Kinnegad, Cllr Bill Collentine, said that WinterFest has brought a lot of money into Mullingar in recent years. He added that if additional funding is provided for the event, it will bring more money into the local economy.

Director of finance Jimmy D’Alton said that he “hears” the councillors’ comments regarding additional funding for WinterFest and that “volunteerism isn’t enough for a festival of that size”.