Kimberley’s Christmas Market has been cancelled this year after organisers said rising costs, venue problems and a shortage of volunteers had made the event unviable.
Kimberley Town Council said the decision had been “incredibly difficult” and stressed that work was already under way to bring the market back next year.
The council said one of the main issues was the lack of a suitable indoor venue that could be used without making the event financially unviable.
It also pointed to increasing traffic management and security costs linked to event management requirements imposed by other authorities.
A declining number of volunteers was another major factor.
The council said its events team works throughout the year without payment to organise and staff community events, but the number of people able to help has fallen.
It added that the average age of volunteers was increasing and that running events was placing greater physical and mental demands on the remaining team.
The council said: “Their physical and mental well-being is of key importance to us.”
Organisers have also seen a fall in the number of vendors and stallholders taking part, making it increasingly difficult to provide a sufficiently varied market for both traders and visitors.
The council said it recognised that community events provide a boost to local businesses and are popular with residents, visitors and stallholders, but added that this had to be balanced against the financial viability of staging them.
Attention will now turn to Kimberley’s Christmas Lights Switch-On, which is due to take place on Friday 27 November.
The council said it was working to enhance the event and ensure it was another success.
Residents who would like to become involved in organising future community events are being encouraged to contact the council’s Events Committee through the town clerk at theclerk@kimberley-tc.gov.uk.
The council added that the cancellation was not intended to mark the end of the Christmas Market permanently.
It said: “We are already working on ways to ensure that next year a Christmas Market can return to Kimberley, so it isn’t a farewell for good to the Christmas Market, but a sad ‘we’ll see you next year’.”
