Organisers 'hopeful' Mansfield's 97th music and drama festival will go ahead later in year

The 97th Mansfield Music and Drama festival, which attracts around 700 people to take part in venues across the town, over several months, has been been postponed.

The first events of the drama section were due to start on Thursday, March 26, and run for four days, during the day and evenings.

The event, which includes the John Ogden Scholarship, was planned to be held from April, 24-27. It annually awards those deemed the best performers in junior vocal, senior vocal and piano.

The festival, has run since 1923, and sees schoolchildren and adults taking part, with everything from amateur dramatics, to poetry recitals, instrumental performances, to full days celebrating some of the region’s top choirs and orchestras.

The culmination was to be the Festival Concert at the Mansfield Palace Theatre on Sunday, May 10.

Festival Chairman Paul Bacon said: “Obviously, we are disappointed that the festival has been postponed.

“It’s in its 97th year, it survived the two World Wars, so we are determined it will continue.

“We are staying positive and are hopeful that we’ll be able to reschedule events so that all the talented people that take part will still have the opportunity to perform.”

Ann Jones, the festivals drama coordinator and Sharon Bond the music coordinator said in a statement on the festival’s website that after listening to Prime Minster Boris Johnson’s statement on March 16 over Coronavirus they had spoken with Paul Bacon.

They said: “We have agreed that both the drama and music sessions should be postponed. If the situation becomes clearer and it is possible to reorganise the sessions they may take place sometime at the end of next term or in the autumn.

“We thank all our supporters, friends and of course the competitors, and hope they will not be too disappointed. If we do manage to rearrange the competition then we will give you plenty of notice.”

For updates, participants are urged to see the festival website https://www.mansfieldmusicdramafestival.co.uk/ or Facebook.