Local shows and galas help to promote a sense of community in small towns and villages. Such events bind people together with a common purpose and encourage a feeling of shared identity.

It is a great shame that so many of them are now threatened because not enough people are coming forward to do the donkey work necessary to organise them. Too many galas and carnivals have already had to be abandoned. People are very busy with their own lives. Work and family take precedence over commitment to the community. They hesitate to become involved in case they find that too much is expected of them.

On top of all those universal problems, the organisers of these events are now up against the demands of tighter health and safety regulations which means that Bingley Children's Gala needs to recruit at least ten volunteer stewards to supervise the crowds. If they don't come forward, an event which has taken place every year since the last war will have to be scrubbed from the town's calendar.

That would be a great shame, particularly at the present time when Bingley is on the verge of a renaissance. It is due to get the road which will free its Main Street of choking traffic. A new shopping development is planned.

In recent years the town has been lifted by events like Music at Myrtle. Bingley Show continues to be well supported by local people. Let's hope that enough people think that the gala, too, is of sufficient importance to the town for it to merit a few hours of their time to ensure its survival.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.