Time Gentlemen Please—’Troubled Pevfest’ reaches the end of the line

News that ‘Pevfest’ appears to have reached the end of the line is being welcomed by many people who live in the Bay.

‘Troubled Pevfest’ as it has been labelled in the local press, since problems emerged with this year’s outing, caused a great deal of concern to many local residents, particularly senior citizens in the area, some of whom, were said to have been ‘left housebound’ as youngsters caused trouble in the streets during the ‘Big Day Out in the Bay’ in July.

One resident told Bay Life at the time that ‘it was fine up until 5:00pm and then the atmosphere changed’. As many people in the Bay will know, Police were called to the event to prevent further trouble and at least one business found that they had been the victims of a break-in.

Shirley MacKinnon, the high profile organiser of the event told Bay Life a few weeks ago, that a further Pevfest was to take place but that the organisation would see a ‘re-focus’. When asked what this meant she said that she wanted to see the event ‘publicised in a different way’, with the emphasis on a ‘family fun day’. By the end of the week, she appeared to have changed her mind about whether ‘Pevfest’ would go ahead at all, or perhaps had it changed on her behalf.

A further email was received by Bay Life last week titled ‘Pevfest Not Pevfest’, which seemed still to leave issues hanging in the air about the nature of the event and any future plans.

Last week the local press finally nailed the coffin lid, with news that because of the Olympics and lack of Police available that there would be no Pevfest in 2012.

The event is to be replaced by a day of stalls and fund raising, beach games and a dog show.

Shirley MacKinnon has on at least one occasion asked Bay Life not to publish anything about Pevfest until ‘we talk to her first’. As an independent publication, with an increasingly wide audience, of course we reserve the right to publish any information that we see as being in the interests of local residents and business.

Simon Montgomery
editor Bay Life