The future of Saltaire Festival is in doubt after an appeal was launched to raise £60,000 to stage it.

A recruitment drive is also under way to find volunteers to help run it.

The festival has taken place in the village every September since 2003.

But organisers say they need to raise £60,000 to run this year’s festival, pencilled in between September 7 and 16, and have called for volunteers to help out.

They are looking for a pool of 30 volunteers to help organise the event, in roles including events planning, communications and fundraising. The festival will then include a 60-strong team of volunteers to help run it during the festival’s second weekend in September.

A public meeting will be held tomorrow upstairs at The Triangle, Bradford Road, Shipley, from 7pm for potential volunteers to come forward.

The festival is a charity that relies solely on its teams of volunteers each year, both for the organisation in the run up to the festival, and during the events themselves.

Last year’s festival included more than 100 events and thousands of people filling the streets and Roberts Park.

Vicky Bower was appointed as the festival chair following the retirement of Ros Garside, who will remain on the festival board, at the annual general meeting last month.

Mrs Bower said: “We need two things to make the festival happen; people and cash. We need to raise £60,000 and are starting from scratch with that. We need to be 100 per cent sure we have enough of both before we can fully commit. It’s hard every year and it is getting harder.

“We have a core of around 30 volunteers who make the festival the success it is. But we could do with a lot more. We are looking for experts across a range of disciplines who can give some of their time, to organise, publicise and run the festival events.

“We have teams who concentrate on marketing and communications, organising the events themselves, and finance and fundraising, and then the volunteer team that helps to run the events during the festival itself.

“The teams meet monthly throughout the year and everyone is welcome to give as much, or as little, time as they feel able.”

Anyone who wishes to help out who cannot attend tomorrow’s meeting can email volunteers@saltairefestival.co.uk or to give funds, email finance@saltairefestival.co.uk.