The St Neots Festival has been voted as the Cambridgeshire Festival of the Year 2023. The free festival took place on June 24-25 that year.

12,000 visitors attended the two day festival in Priory Park, St Neots in 2023.

The award is a remarkable achievement for the organisers of the festival, Neotists CIC, as 2023 was the first year that the St Neots Festival ran. 

There were creative workshops, children's entertainment, community wellbeing zones and food and drink at the festival last year.

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Nearly 1,000 people from local community groups took part in the Festival Parade, as well as 650 artists and performers.

The St Neots Festival also took home a runner up spot for Festival of the Year across East Anglia. 5,000 votes were cast in the annual poll, which is conducted by the East Anglian Festival Network. 

St Neots Festival Director, Ben Pitt, said: "We're overwhelmed to have won this award.

"It's wonderful that people are still thinking about it six months later, and showing their appreciation by voting for us."

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Neotists CIC Director, Clair Slade, added: "We're so proud of what we achieved in our first year. 

"Work has already started for this year's festival, and this award make us all the more determined to build on the success of last year."

The St Neots Festival will return in 2024, running from July 6-7. St Neots Town Council will be funding the St Neots Festival 2024, along with its two main sponsors, Urban&Civic and Beacon Wealth Management.

In the meantime, the festival organisers are keen to hear from local businesses who would like to support the festival by sponsoring a stage or a zone. Anyone interested can contact the festival team at: info@stneotsfestival.co.uk 

Anyone interested in performing at the festival or working as a volunteer can find more information at: www.stneotsfestival.co.uk.