Beryl and Sasha with former mayor Una O’Halloran and the Pearly Queen of Islington at a previous Angel Canal Festival

A WATERSIDE festival has been saved after community groups rallied around to hold the event in memory of its former organiser.

The Tribune reported last month how the Angel Canal Festival had been cancelled because the Canal and River Trust (CRT) ­did not have the money to fund it.

But Sasha Keir, who organised the festival for 21 years alongside her friend Beryl Windsor prior to the CRT takeover, has now worked together with community organisations to keep the festival afloat.

Ms Keir says the festival will take place on September 3, and wants it to be held in memory of Ms Windsor, who passed away in 2019 from ovarian cancer.

“It’s in Beryl’s memory that this event is being brought back to life. There’s a green plaque to Crystal Hale [the festival’s founder] on the wall of the towpath, and I want one for Beryl. It was my dying promise to Beryl, I ­visited her in the hospice two days before she died and I promised her I would get her one,” said Ms Keir.

She added: “Beryl made it a full-time job running the festival for over 20 years, and she was eventually awarded the British Empire Medal for her work on it, and she won an Islington Civic Award for it, too.”

Steve Burt, Ms Windsor’s husband, said that a green plaque “would be fitting for the contribution she made” to the festival, adding: “It would mean an awful lot to members of the boat club and her two daughters, Anne and Louise. There was always a plan, and enthusiasm, to get a green plaque for Beryl.”

According to Ms Keir, the short amount of time left to organise the festival and the last-minute bid for funding means it could be on a smaller scale than usual.

She said: “This festival was always the last hurrah for the summer holidays for families in Islington, and at that point in the summer holidays, you are broke, so it needs to be free or low cost.

Beryl Windsor

“Any local residents’ groups or scout groups that want to be involved, please contact me. I can funnel the groups and ideas into the group of people who want to be engaged with it.”

That currently includes Islington Boat Club, the Angel Community Boat Trust, Friends of Regent’s Canal, as well as the CRT, who despite not having the money to fund the festival, have said they will support it wherever they can.

Ros Daniels, director of the Canal and River Trust, said: “The Angel Canal Festival is a celebration of the Regent’s Canal and its neighbours, and we’re delighted that the Islington community has come together to revive the event.

“We’re working closely with the organiser Sasha and other key stakeholders to support their plans, and in the coming months we’ll be launching an appeal for event sponsorship to ensure the festival returns in 2024.”

Giles Eyre, a volunteer at the Angel Community Boat Trust, said: “The Long Tom and the Angel of Islington II will be there and we’ll do trips with Long Tom, and we’ll show people Angel II. We’ve always been a presence, we’ve always been a part of it, we’ll be there. And hopefully, the boat club will show people how valuable the basin is because its future is coming up for a review and it’s a very important open space for people of all ages.”

Angel Canal Festival

Islington Boat Club will be there to get people out onto the water, possibly offering canoeing and kayaking.

“We’re determined to keep it going, and Sasha is doing terrific work in pulling us together. Her experience is extremely valuable to us. We want to rally around and give her support, and make the boat club part of the day,” said Eric Sorensen, chair of Islington Boat Club.
Ian Shacklock, who runs Friends of the Regent’s Canal, has said that his organisation will do what it can to get the word out about the festival and encourage other organisations to get involved.

“The important thing is that it’s being done by grassroots people – that’s the way it should be because it’s a community event. I knew Beryl for 15 years, I helped write her obituary. I think she’d be delighted and relieved [that the festival is saved].”

Martin Klute, chair of planning at Islington Council, said “the festival has the council’s full support”.

Cllr Klute, who says he is organising for some funding for the festival to come from the council, added: “Any kind of community festival that brings people together is a good thing. This one feels slightly old fashioned like a church fete – it’s soft, warm, and approachable, which is part of the reason so many people come, and that it’s actually much more effective in getting people together to turn up and enjoy it.”

An Islington Council spokesperson said: “Angel Canal Festival is a much-loved community celebration and has become a vibrant and vital part of the area’s history, which the council has supported for many years.

“We are very happy to see it return again this year and are in discussion with the festival organisers about their plans.

“We have already received an application for an Islington People’s Plaque to commemorate Beryl, who did so much for the community and the festival, which will be considered with all other nominations later this year.”

To get involved, contact Sasha Keir by emailing sasha.keir@btinternet.com