SIR, — Plans for a four-day summer festival in Downpatrick which were outlined in last week’s edition look positive and exciting.
The event has the potential to attract many visitors to the town and also encourage local people to get involved in a festival focusing on music, art, sport and culture.
Credit to those who got together to come up with the idea which is being supported by the local council, keen to do all it can to help promote what Downpatrick has to offer.
We are fortunate to have a racecourse in the town, which is only one of two in Northern Ireland, which attracts huge crowds. It is also clever thinking to incorporate the two-day racing festival it hosts every June into this year’s summer festival.
An appeal has been made to the business community to get involved in the festival and it would surely benefit from a large influx of visitors to the town. With the festival programme scheduled to be largely completed by the end of next March, I look forward to see what its detail.
Organisers are hoping the summer festival will grow over future years and what a significant boost that will provide residents and the business community in particular.
Yours etc,
DELIGHTED,
Downpatrick,
(name and address supplied).