THE organisers of Goosfest – Goostrey’s annual music and arts festival – have declared this year’s event the best yet.

More than 2,000 tickets were sold for the fifth Goosfest, which involved 30 events over 10 days from October 7 to Sunday.

Goosfest, which is now established as the main village festival in the area, promised something for everyone, and the record attendances suggest that was the case.

Highlights of this year’s programme included a performance by the host of BBC Radio 2 programme Rhythm And Blues and a member of Blues Band Paul Jones, and Dave Kelly, raconteur Gervase Phinn, a comedy evening, poet Simon Armitage, a classical recital by Northern Brass, a quintet from the Royal Northern College of Music; one-man play Call Mr Robeson, a folk evening with Howden Jones and a dance evening with Soul Devotion.

Other events included Professor Rosalie David, who gave a talk entitled Egyptian Mummies and Modern Science; Andy Harmer, who led guided walks around Lower Moss Wood educational nature reserve and a special version of Gardener’s Question Time.

A big success of this year’s programme was Hits from the Shows, which saw more than 30 villagers take part in two workshops led by professional singer Louise van der Bours, and then perform as the chorus for the West End Girls before a lively audience on Sunday evening.

The younger generation was all catered for by Young Rock, which enabled teenagers to perform in front of their peers, while Bong Soon – a windy tale, based on an ancient Korean story about a woman with extreme flatulence problems – was aimed at children from the age of four.

One of the organisers Bill Ollier said: “This was the best Goosfest yet.

“The support we receive from the people of Goostrey and the surrounding area, in both participation and organisation, is magnificent, and it drives us on to extend the range and quality of the programme.

“We are grateful for the continued support of the parish council and our other sponsors which include the Co-operative, Terra Nova School, Goostrey Parish Council and Jay Ashall Associates.

“However, we are not resting on our laurels, and we are already thinking about Goosfest 2012.”

If anyone any ideas or comments or wishes to volunteer in the organisation visit goosfest.com.