ONE OF Reading’s local festivals has announced that it won’t be going ahead this year.
Reading CAMRA posted to social media to make the announcement that its Beer and Cider Festival would not be taking place in 2023.
The post said that despite organisers’ best efforts, as well as those of their team of volunteers, that it was unable to finalise plans for the event.
While this year’s event, which had previously been set for this summer, won’t be going ahead, CAMRA said that it would continue to work towards an event in 2024.
It is the second year in a row that the event has had to be cancelled, as 2022’s festival was cancelled due to difficulty finding suppliers for critical infrastructure.
The festival was also put on hiatus in the two years previous due to lockdowns, and last went ahead in 2019.
In a post to Facebook, organisers said: “Despite the best efforts from our team of volunteers, who have been working extremely hard since summer 2022 to put together a 2023 event, Reading CAMRA Beer and Cider Festival will not be taking place this year.
“A huge amount of time has gone into considering a number of different options but we have been unable to make all the pieces fit together this time around.
“Infrastructure and the health of key team members have been critical factors.”
It continues: “It is therefore with a heavy heart that we have sadly taken the difficult decision to cancel RBF for 2023.
“We understand that this news will come as a disappointment to many of you, and we share in that disappointment.
We are striving to bring RBF back in 2024, but we will need your support to make this happen. Later this year we’ll be recruiting for additional volunteers to join the core organising team who help to bring the festival to life.”
It said that volunteers would be “crucial” to have the best chance of bringing the festival back next year.
The post also explained how the beer and cider community, especially venues and the events industry more generally, were struggling in current social and economic circumstances.
“Your local beer and cider community needs you more than ever– both the events industry and beer community are being hit by the cost of living crisis and some of the knock-on effects of the pandemic.
“We need only look at the number of pubs and breweries across the UK closing each week.”
The post concludes: “We encourage you to show your support by visiting your neighbourhood pubs, getting involved with your CAMRA branch and participating in the Reading Ale Trail.”
Information about the festival and how to volunteer can be found on the Reading Beer and Cider Festival website: readingbeerfestival.org.uk, or via its Facebook page
