There are concerns in Llandeilo that the Festival of Senses may not be able to take place in 2023.

Despite having had a successful year with great weather and high attendance figures, the Festival of Senses committee reports it will be struggling to put on a festival in 2023 without new helpers.

The festival took place earlier in the festive period for 2022, but due to a lack of committee members, there are concerns ahead of planning for next year’s event.

“With the festival growing in size, we urgently need more people on the committee,” said festival vice chair Debbie Ince. “Mostly we need fundraising and marketing officers.

“These roles have been vacant since 2019 and other committee members had to fill in on top of their own workload. That isn’t sustainable and they’re not willing to do this again.”

Outgoing festival chair Christoph Fischer said: “We need new enthusiastic people who bring in a fresh pair of eyes and innovative ideas.

“After five years at the helm, there is a danger of becoming stale and complacent and not giving it your all. I’ll remain on the committee to support whoever is coming after me, but I will step down at the annual general meeting.”

“Fundraising and business liaison is important, now that costs are going up,” explains treasurer John Meredith Williams. “We gave businesses a break from the pledges system by digging into our savings, but we will need more sponsorship and support in 2023 to run the festival.

“It takes commitment to come on board but it is absolutely worth the while when you see the children smile on Friday night and the shops rammed with customers.”

The festival board will hold its annual general meeting at the White Hart at 7pm on the evening of Wednesday, January 18, and is hoping for support from business owners and volunteers to keep going.