Festival Defies Weather and Attracts Thousands

Thousands braved the stormy conditions to converge on Kendal for its annual Mountain Festival last weekend, which was supported by Northwest Vision and Media.

Clive Allen, one of the event directors, explains: “We opened on Thursday night which of course was when the storm hit, and for sure there were a few people who couldn’t make it into Kendal” says  “From Friday onwards however, thousands of visitors started pouring into Kendal and most of our tickets sold out. Overall, visitor numbers were only slightly down on last year so that means that around 7,000 people were at the Festival.”

Festival-goers had the chance to see mountain-based films, lectures, art and photography with the event’s heart at Kendal’s Brewery Arts Centre.

“In addition to the Brewery we had lectures and films showing in another five venues across Kendal, and all were packed” says Allen. “It’s a real tribal gathering for people who love the mountains, and we know that well over half of those at the Festival will have travelled from outside the North West region which is why it’s such a valuable boost to the local economy at this time of year.”

At the heart of the Festival is its international film competition, with prestigious prizes for winning filmmakers. Lancashire filmmaker (and serial Kendal winner) Alastair Lee won the Peoples’ Choice award for The Asgard Project starring Leo Houlding, and the Grand Prize, presented by event sponsors Berghaus, was won by 'Alone On The Wall',  about phenomenal US climber Alex Honnold free-soloing two thousand-foot routes in America.

Kendal Mountain Rescue Team were hard at work rescuing people from the Lakeland floods all weekend, so they were delighted to learn that hundreds of pounds had been raised at the Festival to support their efforts. “We had a special beer created for the Festival by Hesket Newmarket Brewery, and every pint sold donated 20p to the team”, says Allen. “By Sunday night we had sold out, so the team can expect a cheque later this week!”