Mells marquee blown away but show must go on
Thousands of people descended on a small village near Frome on Easter Monday for the annual Mells Daffodil Festival, but Storm Katie made its presence known.
The extreme weather blew away the music marquee and the beer tent was ripped to shreds. But organisers made sure the Mells Daffodil Festival still went ahead.
Somerset band The Wurzels headlined the event, which has been held every Easter for nearly forty years.
As well as street stalls and activities for children, the festival featured traditional village fayre, including Morris Dancers and Town Criers.
The festival was opened by ITV News presenter Charlene White who enjoyed sampling the cultural delights of Somerset on her first ever visit.
Organisers promised a fun day out for all the family, and they certainly delivered.
Daisy Steel, chairwoman of the Mells Daffodil Festival committee, said: "The event organisers would like to say a huge thank you to everyone involved in making this year's Mells Daffodil Festival such a very special day.
"Somehow despite Storm Katie, despite copious amounts of mud, we managed to pull the festival off. To all those who came and did their stint volunteering, pulled cars out of mud, and generally mucked in and helped, we couldn't have done it without you."
"It really felt like the whole village pulled together in difficult circumstances. The stall holders served up delicious food from around the world, the Town Criers and Morris Men looked fantastic and there was some wonderful music in the Nunney Acoustic area and the main field. The Wurzels were a huge hit – it was wonderful to see so many people dancing in the rain to Combine Harvester.
"This event is all about putting money back into the village. I think we managed it – and gave people a good time in the process."
You can watch Caron Bell's report on Mells Daffodil Festival 2016 here: