ORGANISERS of a mainstay in the calendar of a Northumberland village are facing a race against time to ensure it does not have to be cancelled for the second year running.

The Seahouses Development Trust, organisers of the Seahouses Festival, need to secure around £5,000 to £7,000 by late February to prevent it being scrapped as happened last year due to a lack of funding.

The trust last night said it would be a blow to the village if the event does not go ahead, given the event’s past success in drawing thousands of tourists into Seahouses, with spin-off benefits for local businesses. The festival has previously offered live music on a stage by Seahouses harbour, as well as dance, film, food, children’s art and nature workshops throughout the village, over the course of a weekend.

It has taken place every year since 1999.

The event was first held that September, in a bid to extend the community’s tourist season, as a sea shanty festival celebrating fishing and the area’s marine heritage.

Around five years ago, the organising committee of local people led by the trust switched it to June to take advantage of increased visitor numbers, with recent festivals having pulled in up to 15,000 people over the weekend.

The 2011 event was cancelled as the trust was unable to secure enough funding to stage it, although the organisation said it hoped it would return in future.

Now, the trust has revealed it has only around £5,000 in place to stage this year’s event – that consisting of an offer of sponsorship from regional legal firm Tate, Farrier, Graham, and leftover money from previous festivals. The organisation is working on raising funds from elsewhere, namely sponsorship from local businesses and charitable trusts and organisations, and says it needs at least £10,000 to £12,000 to put on the festival.

The trust says it must have the money in place by late February, otherwise it will not have time to organise the event and it will have to be cancelled.

Trust project manager Graeme Cooper said it would be a blow if the festival does not go ahead.

He claimed the organisation is inundated each year with calls from businesses and tourists wanting to know when the event is on, as it has grown.

“It did get a good reputation and it does have an effect on visitor numbers and it is something that local people enjoy and are proud to have in the village.”