Exeter Respect 2013 attracts record first day crowds
The first day of the Exeter Respect Festival 2013 has been hailed as a resounding success as a record number of people - approximately 13,500 in total so far according to Cllr Ian Martin, one of the Festival organising committee - flooded through the gates of Belmont Park for Exeter's celebration of diversity. With the weather set to be fine again tomorrow (2 June) it is fairly safe to say that the Festival will smash last year's total visitor numbers of 20,000 over the two days.
The Festival continues to grow from strength to strength, attracting a cosmopolitan crowd from all sectors of the community. Visitors included Karime Hassan, - on what was effectively the first day in his new role as Exeter City Council Chief Executive & Growth Director - there with his family, as was the Dean of Exeter, the Very Revd Dr Jonathan Draper. The Dean told The Exeter Daily that it had been his first visit to the Respect Festival, but that he was already very impressed by the atmosphere and entertainment on offer and was looking forward to exploring the different elements of the Festival.
The food offer was as usual of a very high calibre, satisfying children and foodies alike and highlighting the fine local produce on our doorstep. In keeping with the spirit of the Festival, each of the food stalls provided unique flavours from around the world... the Caribbean food stall was a veritable party zone, while the Pizza Dragon, Creperie and Clyst Hydon-based Peradon Farm were all highly sought after and did not disappoint.
Wherever you wander around the Festival brings you to another different style of music and encounters with various dance groups and community performances. The big marquee is gone this year, but this just meant that the Phonic FM stage became the focus of attention and enabled more people to listen. The community tent saw a constant stream of schools and local commuity groups playing and singing to an appreciative crowd, meanwhile in the slightly more chilled out zone of the Music Cafe - proudly sponsored by The Exeter Daily - guests could linger in the comfort of some gloriously mismatched sofas while listening to laid back performances from a wide range of cultures.
Children are always well catered for at this event, and this year was no different. Popular hotspots were the bouncy castle (who doesn't love a bouncy castle?), Exeter City's Football in the Community football skills test and the Police and Fire service activities. However the Scrapstore's slide (which in essence is little more than a hill covered in plastic) created a frenzy of excitement as adults watched on in awe and at times trepidation for their child's safety. They needn't have feared, however, as the children were capably avoiding collisions and catastrophe at every turn.
Exeter-based TV & Film Production company Pangaea TV was on site interviewing key people at the Festival, including Deputy Lord Mayor Rob Hannaford, Cllrs Rosie Denham, Andrew Leadbetter and Simon Bowkett and Council Leader Pete Edwards.
If you have any photos or news from the Festival, please email ted@thedailyuk.com we would love to see them. Or why not post your own review of the Festival here (if you have not done so already, please register here otherwise you will not be able to post - but it's free and easy to do).
The great news is that if you missed it, the Festival is on from 11am to 6pm tomorrow (2 June). So if you didn't make it today, do go along and join in the party atmosphere.
