As I do every year, today I visited Brownhills Canal Festival. Arriving at about 12:30pm, it was clearly a better executed event than the 2011 incarnation, but sadly, the weather was rather unkind, with alternating periods of sunshine and very heavy showers. There was plenty to do for families with kids, and all the usual things were there: canoes, Walsall Pensioner’s Convention, climbing tower, charity stalls, etc.

It was good to see the festival expand onto the old marketplace, and the return of live music was a very good thing, too. There were some decent acts, including a remarkable teenager who sang and played keyboard solo. If anybody knows who she is, do let me know. I’d love to feature her here.

Anyone know who this talented lady is? She was bloody incredible…

Sadly, I still get the impression that the festival is operating in a bubble; there were far fewer boats this year than normal which seems to have caused some disquiet, and only two or three businesses from the High Street apparently involved. As ever, there was no presence at all from Brownhills’ biggest stores, which seems regrettable.

I make this plea to the organisers: The Brownhills Blog has had over 5,000 search hits in the last month relating to the festival. I have had several people contact me asking for details, unable to contact the organisers. Your own site has had over 2,000 hits itself, and is now being linked to by other folks. Next year, please let’s try and get a coordinated response, with details and contact information up and online as soon as possible.

The online community is happy to help. Use them, it’s free and takes seconds.