The team behind Brightlingsea WinterFest met up at the weekend to celebrate raising a record amount for its Wellbeing Fund during its February festival of music, arts and spoken word.

A total of £10,481 was raised by this year’s WinterFest, thanks to donations given at the month-long festival, along with fundraising efforts, including money raised by cold water swimmer Sthiranaga Barrenger, a special concert held by the Brightlingsea-based Colne Delta Blues Club and a non-uniform day at The Colne School.

The Wellbeing Fund helps people in Brightlingsea by paying for activities and equipment to improve their wellbeing. It will open for applications on June 1st, with an online form available on the WinterFest website and paper versions in the town council offices, Brightlingsea Foodbank and local shops. Families and individuals will be able to apply to the fund for activities or equipment worth up to £150 and community groups will be able to apply for grants of up to £300.

Alix Sheppard, co-founder of Brightlingsea WinterFest said: “The success of this year’s WinterFest has been astounding. We had more events, more volunteers and more inclusivity than ever. So many people became involved and so many connections were made. We want to give huge thanks to all our volunteers, supporters and our wonderful community.

“We are not all about fundraising, our main aim is to improve people’s wellbeing through music, arts and spoken word events, most of which are free. Each year we also give 20 per cent of the money raised to the mental health charity, Mid and North East Essex Mind, so we will be able to give them our largest ever donation this year.

Planning is already underway for the 2025 festival – the tenth – which will run  alongside the Brightlingsea Literary Festival.