The news that Petersfield’s popular community festivals will be postponed this year has been met with disappointment from the community.
This week, organisers Steve Jacob and Ben Errey of Hometown Events announced the spring, summer and Christmas festivals would not take place in 2025.
In a statement on their website, they said: “It has truly been an honour to put on all the events in our hometown for everyone to enjoy over the years.
“You have been very loyal guests time after time, supporting us through thick and thin and braving all weathers to come and enjoy what we have organised.”
Mayor Cllr Lesley Farrow said: “It’s with great sadness that I heard the news that Steve and Ben were stepping down for a break.
“I can’t blame them because the flack that they received when they had to close down the Christmas festival was absolutely poisonous.”
Some stallholders had complained that they were not refunded after the cancellation of the Christmas festival in 2024 because of Storm Darragh. Terms and conditions stated that no refunds could be made for circumstances beyond the organiser’s control.
One resident, who did not wish to be named, said: “Steve and Ben have a great love of Petersfield and that can be seen from the care they put into the events.
“But when it was announced they were not refunding people at Christmas, understandably for any small business, that felt very harsh and obviously Petersfield Festivals had losses too.
“If it’s very likely that an event is going to be cancelled because of the weather, then there should have been some kind of relief.”
Petersfield Town Council confirmed it would not be getting involved in organising the community festivals this year.
A statement said: “In response to suggestions that the council might step in to organise similar events, we would like to clarify that we sadly do not have the budget allocated for additional events in this financial year capacity available.
“The planning, organisation, and delivery of festivals of this scale require significant resources, and it would not be feasible for the council to take on this responsibility at this time.”