Additionally, we will be ramping up publicity for the Big Gig during June, so if you want to make sure of your place at the Big Gig, buy now before we sell out. We always give first dibs to village residents, but now we will open up the sale generally. As always, you can reserve/purchase your tickets by emailing biggigtickets@broadtownshow.co.uk (in advance £12 adults, £4 children (3 – 16 inc), on the gate £15 and £5 respectively) - the ticket price includes an item from the BBQ plus a programme for each group on entry. Please note, for the safety of everyone, pets will not be allowed entry. Remember, only 500 can attend the Big Gig and we expect another sell out!

Sponsorship. In addition to Broad Town Cars, Rapid Hire (Swindon) Ltd, Advanced Domestic Solutions, Plantronics and Watson Petroleum, we have also attracted sponsorship from the George Veterinary Group who have agreed to fund the wristbands for 2008. Also, Wilts Waste Event Services of Devizes will be providing rubbish bins and recycling facilities free of charge, so a big thank you to all our sponsors. If you know of any business or organisation who may be interested in sponsoring the Big Gig - we have a menu of sponsorship options available – please get in touch with us.

Our thanks go to the Broad Town Social Club for their donation of the proceeds of a raffle held at the recent Quiz Night – a much appreciated boost to our funds. Have a listen to any of our artists on the Big Gig Virtual iPod on our website – there are 16 sample tracks for you to enjoy. We look forward to seeing you all on the 12th July!

Sponsorship. Continuing their fantastic support of the Big Gig, Broad Town Cars, Rapid Hire (Swindon) Ltd, Advanced Domestic Solutions, Plantronics and Watson Petroleum are all contributing towards our costs. We are working hard to minimise expenditure wherever possible, but the Big Gig costs are rising – if you know of any business or organisation who may be interested in sponsoring the Big Gig - we have a menu of sponsorship options available – please get in touch with us.

Tickets. Thanks to all who have reserved tickets already. You can now reserve your tickets by emailing us (in advance £12 adults, £4 children (3 – 16 inc), on the gate £15 and £5 respectively) - the ticket price includes an item from the BBQ plus a programme for each group on entry. Please note, for the safety of everyone, pets will not be allowed entry. Remember, only 500 can attend the Big Gig and we expect another sell out!

You can now reserve your tickets by emailing biggigtickets@broadtownshow.co.uk. We have increased prices this year to cover our rising costs (in advance £12 adults, £4 children (3 – 16 inc), on the gate £15 and £5 respectively), but the ticket price will include an item from the BBQ plus a programme for each group on entry. Please note, for the safety of everyone (following an unfortunate incident last year), pets will not be allowed entry.

Thanks to all who attended the AGM. We are delighted to welcome to the committee James Harvey-Samuel and Marcus Galea, giving a much needed boost in manpower! The officers of the committee are: Keith Newman – Chair, Chris King – Vice-Chair, Caz Maloney – Secretary, Warwick Mattick – Treasurer. We also received a kind offer from the W.I. to assist in the run up to the Big Gig – thanks!

Following requests for donations, we distributed a total £2,650 from last year’s profits to worthy causes within the village as follows:

Thanks to all sponsors, helpers and attendees for making the Big Gig 2007 so successful and giving these village organisations a much needed financial boost.

Competition. This month's competition is to win a pair of tickets for the Big Gig. All you need to do is to correctly identify five bands that will be appearing on the 14^th July. Please email your answers to biggig@broadtownshow.co.uk - winners will be randomly drawn from the correct entries on the 16^th June. Can you identify who are: 

• Beheaded, Top Snob
• Eh! Foul to tube
• Lush tamperer pest
• Hid death-bed twenty
• I Toxic as a cut

The usual final reminder - remember, we are limited to 500 people on site due to licensing restrictions. To guarantee your Big Gig tickets, simply e-mail biggig@broadtownshow.co.uk stating numbers required.

Bands. Three more bands recruited in the past month - Ode and The Bebops (Andy Ody lives in the village), Teddy White and The Mill now complete the line-up - that makes 8 bands in total offering a diverse range of musical genres - something for everyone, we hope! Use the Big Gig virtual ipod to hear sample tracks from the all the bands. Given this, the start time this year is earlier at 17:00 - gates open at 16:45.

Competition. Thank you for all the entries - the winners, randomly drawn from the correct submissions, are Geoff Astle, Molly Brown and Stewart Hillier. We will be in touch to get your Big Gig 2006 CD to you. In June we will run a further competition to win FREE TICKETS for the Big Gig 2007.

Sponsorship. The list of sponsors grows yet again, with Quick Move Properties of Wootton Bassett joining Broad Town Cars, Plantronics, Rapid Hire (Swindon) Ltd, Advanced Domestic Solutions and Watson Petroleum in generously donating towards our expenses. The sponsorship by Broad Town Cars has received a matching investment from Arts and Business South West to further develop the creative partnership.

Donation. At the annual Parish Council meeting on the 16^th April, the Broad Town Show Committee handed over a cheque for £250 to the Parish Council towards the conservation of an ancient linen village map. It is hoped the map will be ready for display at the Flower Festival in the Church. We will be inviting village organisations to apply for a donation later this year, so if you are a worthy cause in need of a financial boost, please contact any committee member.

Preparations continue apace; we now have 6 bands booked and several more potential acts. We've created a 'virtual ipod' on the Big Gig 2007 page so you can listen to sample tracks from the bands - there is a great variety in musical styles and we hope to expand the genres further.

We have a competition for you this month; you will need to visit the Big Gig 07 page on www.broadtownshow.co.uk. Just answer these 3 simple questions and submit your answers by email to biggig@broadtownshow.co.uk, and you could win a free copy of the Big Gig 2006 cd - there are 3 up for grabs, the winners being drawn from the correct entries. Closing date is the 20^th April. Questions:

• Which band likes queuing?

• What night is the Heys' favourite?

• Who likes skydiving? 

Sponsorship. We have been successful in obtaining continued support from Broad Town Cars, Plantronics and Rapid Hire (Swindon) Ltd, all of who have been even more generous than last year, so a big thank you to them. Additionally, we have secured sponsorship from Advanced Domestic Solutions and Watson Petroleum, plus the sponsorship by Broad Town Cars has received a matching investment from Arts and Business South West to further develop our creative partnership.

Remember, we are limited to 500 people on site due to licensing restrictions. To guarantee your Big Gig tickets, simply e-mail biggig@broadtownshow.co.uk stating numbers required.

Two dates for your diaries! Firstly, the all important date for the Big Gig 2007 is Saturday, the 14th July. We will again be holding the event at Manor Farm - many thanks to the Executors for their permission.

Secondly, the AGM of the Broad Town Village Show will be at 8pm on the 14th March in the Village Hall. All are welcome, especially those wishing to offer support / help in organising and making the Big Gig happen - we look forward to seeing you there.

Following an open invitation to apply for donations, we decided to distribute £500 to worthy causes in the village. The first donation for £250 has been made to Broad Town Pre-School towards the current pre-school refurbishment project. After the presentation, Carol Peach, the previous chairman of the pre-school management committee, said the gift gave a very welcome boost to their funds. We also plan to donate up to £250 towards the cost of restoring an ancient map of the village, in the possession of the Parish Council. It is hoped that the map may eventually be put on display in the village hall. 

Photos are now available - make sure you find them all as the scrolling arrows aren't too obvious, and it's too late at night to remember how to remove the guitar background. There are more (600+!) and the originals are higher definition, so if there is a particular one you want, let us know.

We will be publishing the amount raised as soon as we have all the final expenses in - watch this space.

The exciting news  is that we now have added a fourth act to the line-up. The Streams are a local young band with an awful lot of talent - catch them before they become the next Busted! So, the Big Gig should be an action packed night with plenty of variety in styles of music - we are all looking forward to seeing you there!

Preparations continue apace, and we are now getting down to some of the finer detail re site layout, car parking, toilets, sound and light configuration. Beer aficionados will be pleased to hear we have negotiated a deal with the Nailsworth Brewery, so real ale will be available from the bar. Please form an orderly queue.

Ticket reservations are steadily coming in, but we want to make sure we get as many villagers attending as possible - this event is for the village and the ultimate aim is to raise money to benefit you, the people of the village. But it's also an opportunity to let your hair down with neighbours and friends and get to know people in your community you otherwise don't get a chance to meet. And you will have a great time to boot! You can reserve your tickets (adults £10, under 16 £2, including item from BBQ), via email biggigtickets@broadtownshow.co.uk, or call Keith on 739268 / Warwick on 731565. Additionally, we will be promoting the event door to door in early June.

Volunteers - We are making fantastic progress, but if you can spare a bit of time, either during the preparation phase, or on the night, then please let us know - your generosity won't go unrewarded!

Wot, No Glastonbury! But there is the Broad Town  Big Gig! 

Preparations are well under way for the big music and social event of the summer 2006 - the Broad Town Big Gig. Bands are booked, stage sorted, catering catered for, sound system sourced, disco detained. We have our first ticket reservations (thanks!), and we want to give you, the residents of Broad Town, every opportunity to be a part of this historic event! But be warned - due to licensing laws, numbers are strictly limited and we intend to widen the promotional net in the very near future. So, to reserve your tickets for the 22^nd July (adults £10, under 16 £2), please email us, or call Keith on 739268 / Warwick on 731565 as soon as possible - and in years to come you can look back and say "Do you remember The Big Gig 2006? I was there….". Tell your neighbours, friends and family and make this an event to remember!

 Volunteers - We are making fantastic progress, but if you can spare a bit of time, either during the preparation phase, or on the night, then please let us know - your generosity won't go unrewarded!