Colne R&B Festival named best in Britain

The annual music extravaganza was named as winner in the British Blues Festival category of the 2011 British Blues Awards at the weekend.

The announcement was made during an awards ceremony at Newark Castle during Newark Blues Festival on Sunday.

Festival organiser Alison Goode and Pendle Leisure Trust’s Publicity/PR Manager Sue Madigan travelled to collect the accolade.

Alison said: “We are absolutely delighted to have won this award. It puts both Colne and the festival well and truly on the map.

“We had no idea we had won. We decided to go to Newark when we heard we had been nominated and it was also a chance to see another Blues Festival.”

The local festival was nominated for the award in April and people had until the end of July to vote for their favourite.

There was a staggering 80,000 votes from people in 100 different countries for entries in the 15 categories.

“What makes it even more special is the fact we were nominated for the award by someone who attends and enjoys the festival.

“It is fantastic news that the festival has now been recognised and I would like to thank everyone who voted for us and, of course, our sponsors – Barnfield Construction, East Lancashire Community Rail Partnership, John Smith’s and Radio Lancashire - who continue to support us year after year.

“This is a great achievement for the festival and Pendle Leisure Trust. The credit should go to all the staff for their hard work, commitment and massive team effort which goes into bringing this festival to Colne year after year.”

Colne’s festival was up against five other festivals in the British Blues Festival category – Blues On The Farm, Carlisle Blues Festival, Maryport Blues Festival, Newark Blues Festival and Swanage Blues Festival.

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