SHELL-shocked traders are looking at ways to save the annual Dunster by Candlelight festival after the Free Press reported last week that the organising committee had decided it would no longer stage the popular Christmas event.

Festival founder Hannah Bradshaw called time on the event after nearly 40 years because of rising costs, which this year reached almost £25,000, and the huge amount of work involved in staging it.

Mrs Bradshaw feared without her expert knowledge of the arrangements needed each year for the festival to take place, there was nobody else who could take it on.

But traders reacted with a mixture of shock and anger this week after learning about the decision some days after it was taken by the festival committee.

The festival began in 1986 as a way to attract visitors to Dunster at a time of year when trade was otherwise at a low point and it was always held on the first weekend in December.

Now, a number of traders want to get together in the New Year to discuss if and how a similar festival could be staged in 2024 to keep the flow of visitors coming to Dunster.

Donna Cox, who owns the Exmoor Through the Lens shop, in Dunster Steep, told the Free Press: “I take my hat off to them for all the years, for what they have done, it is fabulous.

“But I was a little bit, hang on a minute, if they are a committee and for whatever reason feel they do not want to continue it, without speaking to businesses in the village to see if somebody wanted to take it over or wants to help, then that is not very good.

“The whole point is that it is for Dunster village, not for outsiders, not for Joe Bloggs, it is for the village, and nobody was given the opportunity to even say we would do it. It is unbelievable.”

Ms Cox said traders paid a lot of money each year to be a part of the festival and she was sure many would want to try to put on some kind of 2024 event.

Dunster resident Jane Hunt said: “I was shocked to learn that this year's Dunster by Candlelight was going to be the last.

“I am a local and I look forward to it every year.

“It is a magical event, enhanced by the castle and the church being illuminated and the lights along the street, lit by people on stilts.

“The whole village is a perfect backdrop for an event such as this.

“I also love the live performers and my favourite of all is the piano man on the bicycle.

“I hope somebody takes it over and it does not disappear for good.”

Dunster shop owner Nina Dodd, of Scandi-British lifestyle store Dunster Living, said thousands of people had been attending the ‘Candlelight’ event year after year and it had become an important part of their Christmas tradition.

Ms Dodd said: “Personally, we think the best option would be for a professional event organiser to take the event on, a business that would allow new ideas to be implemented and that would have the skills to run it as a financially viable business.

“That way, the beloved event would be secured for everybody to enjoy.”

Another trader said: “We have been absolutely astounded that traders were not consulted or even informed about the committee's decision until a day before the announcement was published in the Free Press.

“We have all paid towards the running of the event, advertised it, and made sure that there is food, drinks, and pretty wares available for the visitors who come year after year.

“Yet, the committee seem to think that we are not important enough to be consulted about such a drastic decision.”

Mark Taylor, founder of visitor website www.dunster.info, said he attended Dunster Show and Dunster Country Fair annually, but Dunster by Candlelight was ‘the pinnacle of all the events’.

He said: “Everybody is just in shock at the moment, trying to rally round and see what they can do and hopefully come up with a solution to sort it rather than leave the decision as it is.

“It is just such a shame that it has been literally cut with no solution in the pipeline.

“People travel miles to come to ‘Candlelight’, from Bristol, Birmingham, London, and further afield.”

Mr Taylor, who moved to the village 10 years ago, said Dunster was ‘an absolutely beautiful village’ and he loved finding something new every time he went for a walk.

He agreed with suggestions that a professional events company could be the best way to continue to run a Christmas festival for the village.