ORGANISERS of a much-loved annual festival said confusion over funding and poor communication led to uncertainty over its future.

The Winter Droving, held on October 26 in Penrith, attracted thousands of attendees to enjoy an array of entertainment including knife-throwing, slack rope walking, fire juggling and live music.

Eden Arts, the charity responsible for organising the event, said there had been confusion over the level of funding it was going to receive earlier this year - and that a lack of funding also means there is uncertainty over the event's future, despite local businesses rallying to support this year's festival.

For more than a decade, 'fire, music, masks and mayhem' have descended on Penrith town centre. This year, organisers estimated that 20,000 people went through the market town.

Inspired by the historical return of drovers - livestock herders - to the town for the winter season, the festival has evolved into a large-scale event that attracts thousands of visitors from across the UK and beyond.

Its torchlit parade is a key highlight, with masked participants lighting up the streets in a folk-inspired procession that has become a central feature of the festivities.

An Eden Arts spokesperson said they faced difficulties in securing funding for this year's event, while Westmorland and Furness Council has 'just spent millions on renovating a building for itself' - in reference to the authority's new home at Voreda House in Penrith.

“We were first led to believe that funding would be available, and so committed to undertaking the event, only then to be told that the funds were not going to be available,” they claimed.

Adrian Lochhead, Eden Arts and Winter Droving director, said the process this year had been 'appalling'. “We asked for clarity in January and kept asking for it," he said.

The council said there had been a mistake in June with 'double counting' the money they already committed that year when asked at the time what was due to Eden Arts - but that this was clarified the following day.

While Eden Arts claimed funding was reduced from last year, Westmorland and Furness Council said it had continued to provide core funding to Eden Arts and that no cuts were made to festival support this year.

It, and the previous council for Eden, ‘provided significant funding support to Eden Arts over many years’, a Westmorland and Furness Council spokesperson said.

“In the current 2024/25 financial year, the council has maintained the core funding to Eden Arts of £20,000, and this has not been reduced or decreased,” the spokesperson stated.

Additionally, a one-off payment of £5,000 was allocated, which the council suggested could contribute towards the Winter Droving, alongside a £10,000 National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) contribution.

This brings the total funding provided by the council for 2024/25 to £35,000, they said.

Reflecting on the previous year, the council explained that Eden Arts received a one-time payment of £25,000 from the Culture Recovery Support Fund to aid the 2023 Winter Droving.

The fund was designed to support organisations facing cost-of-living challenges, energy price surges, and ongoing post-pandemic recovery. The council said that the 2023 contribution was intended as a one-off measure and not recurring.

“It would therefore be incorrect to suggest that specific funding for Winter Droving has been removed or cut,” the spokesperson added.