OFFICIALS from the borough were today meeting to decide what should happen to outdoor IP-Art events in the next few days.With weather forecasters warning of more heavy rain, there are real fears that some of the festivals most popular events could be washed out.
By Paul Geater
OFFICIALS from the borough were today meeting to decide what should happen to outdoor IP-Art events in the next few days.
With weather forecasters warning of more heavy rain, there are real fears that some of the festivals most popular events could be washed out.
Last night's relay of the opera Tosca to an open-air screen in Christchurch Park was cancelled because of the heavy rain and a lorry ended up getting stuck in the mud.
One onlooker said: “It was dry by the time the concert was due to take place and a few people turned up but they had to be turned away. It was disappointing.
“It was very wet and the lorry that was taking the 30 tonne screen away got stuck in the mud. They were still recovering it when it was dark.”
A planned open-air Agatha Christie performance in the mansion garden was under review today.
And on Friday and Saturday the park is due to play host to two outdoor cinema events - always a highlight of the festival.
Ipswich council leisure spokeswoman Judy Terry said she had been talking to officers, who would have the final say on whether events could go ahead.
She said: “We have contingency plans for some of our events which could move into the Corn Exchange, but that would not be possible for them all.
“Of course this weather is very inconvenient and it's a great shame for everyone involved, but we have to be thankful that we haven't got the kind of problems we're seeing on our television screens from Yorkshire every night.”
Mrs Terry said the town had been lucky with the rain holding off during the Ipswich Music Day celebrations in Christchurch Park on Sunday.
She said: “It was very fortunate that escaped the heavy rain, but it is a shame for so many other events which people enjoy taking part in.”
Full details of what is cancelled, what will go ahead, and which events will be moved will be posted on the Evening Star's website www.eveningstar.co.uk
Has the weather affected your plans? Write to: Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here