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Plans for winter fire festival at castle scrapped

MANX SCENES The exterior of Castle Rushen, a grey stone, small medieval castle with a clock tower, and a Manx flag on a clear day.MANX SCENES
The event had been due to be held in and around the grounds of Castle Rushen

A winter fire festival at a medieval castle on the Isle of Man has been scrapped after organisers ran out of time to secure the permissions needed to hold it at the heritage site.

Organiser John Shakespeare said it had taken "more planning than initially expected" to adapt the pyrotechnic performance for Castle Rushen due to take place on 31 October.

The folklore-themed Oie Voaldyn fire festival is typically held in Peel in May but was not held this year, with the Oie Houney and Hop-tu-Naa event proposed instead.

The cancellation comes after the announcement last month that Ramsey’s Halloween Scarefest event has been cancelled due to costs and security concerns.

That event's production manager said issues with anti-social behaviour in 2023 , meant enhanced security arrangements and changes to its age policy had been needed for the event at Milntown, which had made it too costly to put on.

SUE JONES A man standing on Peel beach dressed as a Viking holding up a flaming sword in front of a crowd of people. There is a bonfire to the left and Peel Castle can bee seen in the background on the right.SUE JONES
A fire festival usually held in Peel in May was also cancelled this year

Mr Shakespeare said the Castletown event would have seen 60 cast members perform in the castle grounds, with spectators viewing from the public square.

He said it was taking time to source suitable pyrotechnic equipment through Manx National Heritage for use near the protected heritage site, such as torches that did not drop wax, and synchronised flamethrowers had to be specially tested for use there.

Without the usual pyrotechnics, Mr Shakespeare said going ahead with the winter festival "was looking like it would be a sound and light show".

"We could have delivered much less of a festival, but we didn’t want to do that," he added.

There were also challenges meeting deadlines to apply for the routine event licences needed, including those for alcohol and road closures, but it was hoped the event would take place in 2025, Mr Shakespeare added.

Castletown Commissioners said that while they had no involvement with the planning of the event, they were "supportive of the concept" and it was "unfortunate that it has not come to fruition this year".

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