A TORCHLIGHT parade and firework display drew thousands to Wokingham at the weekend.
To rousing music from St Sebastian Wokingham Band, and led by Wokingham’s two mayors, a mini mayor, Wokingham’s MP, and a young competition winner, festival goers processed from the town centre, to Cantley Park.
There they were able to see an impressive thirty minute pyrotechnic display, buy snacks and meals from a range of food vendors, and enjoy funfair rides.
Wokingham Firewords is an annual family friendly event, held to bring the community together to have fun while raising money for local charities and causes.
Organised by The Wokingham Fireworks Charitable Trust it takes a huge amount of effort and planning to achieve.
Here’s a quick breakdown of a few of the numbers involved:
84 – the number of stewards on duty on Saturday who made the event safe and fun.
50 – tickets not sold half an hour before the event started (the event completely sold out minutes later)
700 – burning torches were held aloft as people processed from Wokingham Market Place, along Broad Street, and Milton Road to the park.
8 – barrels of water at the Cantley Park gate doused the torches as people entered
5 – special guests led the procession: Wokingham Borough Mayor Cllr Adrian Mather, Wokingham Town Mayor Cllr Rob Comber, Wokingham Town Mini Mayor Celia Chandler, Liberal Democrat MP for Wokingham Clive Jones, and countdown competition winner Ryan Paul, 11.
20,000 – 10,000 tickets were sold for this event, so this is the number of boots and shoes that made their way to Cantley Park.
1 – one small grey dinosaur welly boot got lost en route but was reunited with its young owner when his mum heard a tannoy announcement and went to collect it.
David Gold chairs the Fireworks committee.
After a very long day, he was pleased with how the event had gone.
“Once again, it’s been great,” he said.
“Everything has gone to plan – each year we improve it a little bit, and it’s running very efficiently now.
“We noticed there were long queues for the food vendors last year, so we invited more caterers this time.”
The fireworks were spectacular; impressively and artistically choreographed to music.
After a strong count down from Ryan the light show began with a space-themed spectacle to the music of Star Wars, followed by a series of other exciting and individual displays.
Ryan had won a primary school aged poster competition to start the display.
He likes art, and he put a lot of thought into his winning poster, but it’s not his vocation.
Instead Ryan plans to be a neurosurgeon.
“It felt great to be leading 10,000 people,” he said.
Cllr Adrian Mather and his wife Debbie enjoyed the festival.
“We’ve brought our kids here for 20 years and it’s always a fantastically run event,” he said.
“We really appreciate all the people who’ve helped to make it happen.”
Cllr Rob Comber agreed: “This event is always spectacular,” he said.
“It’s about getting families and the community together to have some fun.
“It’s fantastic to see 10,000 people enjoying themselves.
Mini Mayor Celia Chandler wore a big smile.
“It’s quite exciting, and it’s very loud,” she said.
“I enjoyed being at the front of the procession, even though I was a bit nervous of the burning torches.”
Wokingham MP Clive Jones and his wife Nicky joined in the fun.
He said: “The fireworks are absolutely fantastic, and the committee does a really good job putting on entertainment for thousands of people, while making money for charity.
“It’s well organised, and it went brilliantly.”
The fireworks committee thanks both councils, and their sponsors: The Wokingham Society, Alexandra Grange Care Home, Prospect Estate Agents and Hallmark.
They are grateful to their team of volunteers, all the organisations who have supported the event, MC Production for their firework spectacular, St Sebastian Wokingham Band, and all the people of Wokingham who turned up to enjoy the festival.
They also thank the Scouts who helped to pick up litter and spent firework debris the next morning.
Money raised by the event will be divided between local branches of Keep Mobile, Home-Start Wokingahm District, Debra UK, and The Samaritans.
The amount will be announced in December.
The Wokingham Fireworks Charitable Trust is a working partnership between Wokingham Rotary Club, Easthampstead Rotary Club, Wokingham Lions Club, and Windsor Forest Unicorn Club.
They are keen to attract more volunteers to help them plan next year’s event.
To find out more, and to join them, visit: wokingham-fireworks.co.uk or find them on Facebook.
