I HAVE one of those families in which everyone has a birthday in the same month, June, so we tend to get together to have one big celebration.

This year the entire family is due to descend on Ulverston and I find myself tasked, as when anyone comes to visit, with thinking about and organising what to do.

There are, of course, countless opportunities in the Lake District proper but I’m a huge advocate for the Furness Peninsula and always keen to show people around closer to home.

Firm local favourites include the rite of passage trot up the Hoad and down along the canal to the Bay Horse for lunch or a trip over to Piel Island, where the castle ruins are open ‘at any reasonable time’.

I never tire of telling people we’ll take the ferry across and watching the smiles spread across their faces as they see what appears to be nothing more than a fishing dinghy pull up the jetty.

And, of course, there’s always something going on in Ulverston itself and this time, the clan is here on the very same weekend as Another Fine Fest. Job done!

This is one of my favourite festivals in the Ulverston, one of my favourite festivals at all actually. There is music and performance on every corner and all the shops and restaurants open out on to the street, with art and comedy filling every minute and every space.

It’s colourful and lively and there is a brilliant atmosphere, which some 15,000 people come to enjoy each year. Except possibly, and devastatingly, not for long. Unless we can pull together to help out.

In an ever-precarious funding landscape it’s grassroots, volunteer-led projects and events which stand to lose the most. Usually run on a shoestring budget with a huge amount of hard work from dedicated organisers, an unexpected reduction in funding can pull the rug from under the feet of a festival like Another Fine Fest.

As is often the way, these sorts of events have to reapply for funding year on year and unfortunately this time, the festival didn’t get the Arts Council grant it had been awarded in previous years.

As the people who enjoy Another Fine Fest as an amazing event in itself and as a part of the cultural make-up of Ulverston, we can wait to see what happens and hope it survives or we can get involved and help!

A crowdfunding campaign is underway (see https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/another-fine-fest-2019#/) and they are offering a whole range of perks for pledges, including posters, pin badges and prints, all created by featured artists and even a lifetime of free entry to comedy events in Ulverston in return for pledges of support.

Pledging doesn’t just help this particular festival for this one year. It shows a commitment to maintaining the cultural wellbeing of the community and ensuring Ulverston continues to be a place that people love to live and visit.

On Saturday, June 15 I hope to be there in the middle of the town with my family alongside thousands of others enjoying 2019’s Another Fine Fest. Why not pop a pound or two in the pot and come join us?