Report from Irene Slack

Ormskirk was well and truly gingered up on Saturday for the town's first - and very successful - Gingerbread Festival.

'What a fabulous day! Went for one hour and stayed for four.'

This is one of the many responses from visitors to Ormskirk Community Partnership’s Gingerbread Festival on Saturday in the town centre. People came from all over the area intrigued to see what a Gingerbread Festival was and what Ormskirk had to offer.







Both the Mayor of West Lancs. Cllr Liz Savage and the Town Crier gave the waiting audience clues as to why Ormskirk was famous for Gingerbread and then the Festival was declared open.

'Entertainment was first class'







Well, plenty of entertainment was on offer for a start. The ukulele band played by the Clock Tower, the Community Choir sang in the event square and lots of fun was had watching the Lancashire Revels performing their Ormskirk based play. The magician puzzled the children with his magic tricks and the Tataika band turned up unexpectedly and so we had to hurriedly find them a performance space.

Clowns, jugglers, face-painters, vintage games and the Ormskirk Gingerbread Lady’s stall with more games, all free of charge were there and, as one family said, “That’s our Saturday sorted for the kids.”

'The Gingerbread model looks fab.'



Located on the Moor St. plinth, was a full-size Gingerbread model to remind everyone that Ormskirk is famous for Gingerbread. Families waited patiently to photograph their children alongside the model or could pop into Max Speilman’s shop for a snap next to a Gingerbread cut out. Similar full-size models will be located around the town, with one already in place to greet passengers at Ormskirk Railway Station and another will take pride of place on Wetherspoon’s balcony in the near future.









Around the town, there were heritage exhibitions, a Makers Market and Gingerbread themed food and drink were on sale. There was a chance to win a ceramic Gingerbread model by entering Ormskirk Community Partnership’s Spot the Shop competition, where the children had to search for shops showing a numbered Gingerbread picture.

'Amazing sense of community'





It was good to see so many families turn up to support our Festival Day. One person wrote in to say what a great day it was and that he loved the happy atmosphere in the streets. It just goes to show that Ormskirk can still attract the crowds. Having celebrated the market in the 'Love Your Market' day in May, the Festival was the latest in a series of events to encourage people to visit and shop in our town. Ormskirk Community Partnership would like to thank those who came to support our event, shops and businesses who provided Gingerbread goods and activities and sponsors including West Lancs Borough Council and Edge Hill University who provided the funding for our entertainers.

It was all summed up by a comment on Facebook – 'Absolutely loved it. Well done Ormskirk.'.