A FAMILY friendly festival in Wimborne is set to go ahead this year after a successful virtual event last year.

Family Fest, run by Coast Print & Design, was due to be held at The Meadows in Wimborne on the weekend of May 29 and 30.

However, after the recent events across the country regarding Covid-19, founder Rob Batson and his team have reached a decision to move this year's Family Fest to later in the year to July 24 and 25.

Rob said: “We don't make these decisions unless absolutely necessary and under the latest lockdown we feel this is something that we had to do as a team.

“We will continue with all plans but by moving them to later in the year gives us a better chance of being able to hold some sort of event this year for the local community.”

Rob created the festival in late 2017 with the vision of providing a small festival in which small businesses and the local community can come together for an enjoyable weekend in the sun.

This comes after Coast Print & Design were forced to adjust their event programme last year to a virtual format, which provided to be very popular for families across Dorset and further afield.

Last year’s event was due to go ahead in late May but, due to the pandemic, organisers decided to postpone the event until August 2020.

After reviewing in late June, Rob decided to postpone the 2020 festival until the end of May Bank Holiday in 2021 and we brought a new concept - Virtual Fest, which supported Amelia's Rainbow.

“Our Virtual Fest included two days of live music from local artists, gym sessions, demonstrations and a whole host more,” he said.

“Partnered with Wimborne BID and morebus, our Virtual Fest was a great success with over 10,000 people tuning in across the two days.”

Organisers have a jam-packed weekend planned for this year’s event to include a trader's village, live music programme, family zone, funfair and inflatable zones and eco hub.

Rob says that staff will continue to follow guidance and restrictions where required and the festival will be covid-secure throughout.

He added: “We are also excited to announce that we will be holding a special drive-in cinema event on Monday July 26 and we will publish more information in the coming months.

“We understand that the Covid-19 pandemic is having daily struggles on everyone's lives and we have a great weekend planned for bringing families and the community together in a safe environment and we look forward to welcoming you on our new dates.”