News

24th November 2011 Firstly, following on from the great success of the Big Gig 2011, your committee has made donations to Help for Heroes and village organisations to the tune of £3,248 as follows:

Help for Heroes £1,000

Broad Town Pre-school £198

White Horse Society £500

BT Newsletter £100

Parish Council £1,200

Church £250

Secondly, thanks to everyone who attended the AGM – a new committee has been formed comprising: Keith Newman (Chair), Richard Wylie (Vice Chair), Andrew Law (Secretary), James Harvey-Samuel (Treasurer) and committee members Matt Nailon, Ed Newman, Matt Parry, Matt Rogers and Graham Wallis. And without any messing about, we immediately set the date for the Big Gig 2012 as Saturday the 1st September. Can we make it any better? We are already working on it…..

And lastly, due to relocation, the Big Gig says goodbye to Marcus Galea and Chris King. Chris was one of the founders of the Big Gig back in 2006 and has been a committee member every year except one, whilst Marcus joined us in 2008 and has twice led the team as Chair. Both will be sorely missed, but perhaps we will see the Big Gig franchise in other parts of the country, or the Big Gig on tour! Watch this space in the New Year for more exciting news. Merry Christmas!

27th September 2011 We said it would be the best yet and it certainly was! To get straight to the nitty – gritty, the event was not only a great night of music, food, fun and socialising, but also a financial success - we can announce that from the event proceeds we will donate £1,000 to Help for Heroes, plus there will be a pot of £2,000 available to village organisations. Please contact any of the committee or email biggig@broadtownshow.co.uk should your organisation require financial assistance, by the 31^st October 2011. Please ensure you give a full description of the purpose of the request, including the benefit(s) to the village.

On top of these donations, the Social Club, W.I., Pre-School and Rotary all raised funds for themselves through their hard work on the night - Broad Town should be proud of what was achieved on the 3^rd September.

We could not put on the Big Gig without the financial, physical and emotional support of our sponsors, our friends and people from the village, so no apologies for a word of thanks to: Ray and Maybell Bourton for use of the land, the upgraded and excellent bar provided by Broad Town Social Club, delicious cakes and hot beverages supplied by Broad Town W.I., the entertainment provided by Broad Town Pre-School to the young (and not so young!), everyone who helped put up the tents,  prepare and clear up the site or worked on the gate,  all the great bands that kept us entertained and anyone else we may have forgotten. Finally a mention and a bit of recognition for your Big Gig committee; they have worked tirelessly over the last 10 months to create a music festival that is now recognised as one of the best in the area: Keith Newman, Marcus Galea, Chris King, James Harvey-Samuel, Andrew Law, Matt Parry, Matt Rogers, Gill Richardson Graham Wallis, Richard Wylie and latterly Matt Nailon - and thanks to our long suffering partners.

If you haven’t already seen the stunning photos on Facebook (and yet another thank you to Philip Male Photography), there is a link on our website.

Finally, a date for your diary: Broad Town Show AGM will be held on Tuesday, November 22nd at 8:15pm in the Village Hall. If you want to be part of the Big Gig and have a few hours to spare each month, please come along and join us – your village needs you!

29th July 2011 With a little over a month to go, we are now in the publicising and ticket selling phase of the plan. We will be distributing 1,000 advance copies of the Programme to local pubs and clubs, undertaking leaflet drops and poster campaigns plus erecting 7 banners on the highways of North Wilts. But you can help us and yourselves too – get your tickets before we sell out and spread the word! There’s a poster you can download on the website – print it off, stick it in your window, car, or up at work and help raise funds for Help for Heroes – remember at least 25% of the profits will be donated.

The line-up has, as always, moved a little in the last few weeks, with Theo Altieri and The Urgent Frogs stepping in for a couple of casualties to artistic differences; no loss as to the quality of the bill there. Plus don’t forget we have drum workshops, guitar workshops, trampolines, boat swings, bouncy castle plus the Pre-School will be providing face Painting and / or fake tattoos. Food-wise there will not only be the obligatory BBQ, but also a selection of Indian Curries from award winning Josh Krori who featured on Gordon Ramsey’s ‘F Word’, plus a stall providing Sweet and Savoury Crepes. As always, adding glamour to the culinary delights, we have those stalwarts the WI providing Tea, Speciality Coffee, Hot Chocolate and Fantastic Cakes, plus the usual well run Bar provided by the Social Club, serving Real Ales, Real Ciders and a great selection of other alcoholic and soft drinks. Top music and top gastronomy; what more can you ask for?

If you want to come en-mass, we have a group discount promotion: buy 6 adult tickets and you will receive the 7th free! So round up your family and friends and benefit from your bulk buy – this promotion may be withdrawn at any time, so get your tickets early! We are still limited to 500 attendees and following on from last year’s success and the improvements we have made and the fantastic line-up we fully expect to sell out, so guarantee your Big Gig place and buy your tickets now! You obtain your tickets by phoning James on 731108 or order your tickets on line via our website using Paypal – there is a small charge for P&P. Alternatively, drop in to Holmes Music (Swindon), Broad Hinton Post Office, Bassett Books (Wootton Bassett), Rouses (Wootton Bassett), The Trotting Horse (Bushton) or Sound Knowledge (Marlborough). Standard ticket prices are Adults over 16: £15, 12 – 16 year olds inclusive: £5 and under 12s: free.

One final note: Tents! We are aiming to put the tents up on the Bank Holiday Monday 29th August – if you’re willing to help, please let us know by emailing, including a contact phone number, to biggig@broadtownshow.co.uk so we can keep you advised of the final arrangements – it’s always been a real community effort and a great way for the village to get together with a common, easily achieved goal!

23rd June 2011 Following on from the success of the Little Gig (and our thanks go to all the bands, the Social Club and all who came), we are pleased to announce we have booked Beyond the Break and Ali Finneran, plus have found another band that play “folk rock, jazzy blues, ska, funk vibes through to ballads and the occasional jumped out rant” called Kolakoca, making a total of 13 bands / artists - our biggest and best ever line up. Full details and sample tracks are available on our website. And we will have a recording star amongst our midst – Josh Kumra of Kicaberry is currently playing the large festivals with Wretch32, who have a single out on the 14^th August featuring Josh, which is expected to be a top 5 hit!

Apart from the music, for 2011 we have enhanced the alternative entertainment, with drum workshops, guitar workshops, trampolines, boat swings, bouncy castle and bucking bronco. Food-wise there will not only be the obligatory BBQ, but also a selection of Indian Curries from award winning Josh Krori who featured on Gordon Ramsey’s ‘F Word’, plus a stall providing Sweet and Savoury Crepes. As always, adding glamour to the culinary delights, we have those stalwarts the WI providing Tea, Coffee and Fantastic Cakes, plus the usual well run Bar provided by the Social Club, serving Real Ales, Real Ciders and a great selection of other alcoholic and soft drinks. Top music and top gastronomy; what more can you ask for? 

If you want to come en-mass, we have a group discount promotion: buy 6 adult tickets and you will receive the 7^th free! So round up your family and friends and benefit from your bulk buy – this promotion may be withdrawn at any time, so get your tickets early! We are still limited to 500 attendees and following on from last year’s success and the improvements we have made and the fantastic line-up we fully expect to sell out, so guarantee your Big Gig place and buy your tickets now – an extensive marketing campaign starts in July. 

23rd May 2011  First up, please note the change of date of the Little Gig to the 17th June. We currently have four acts lined up for your entertainment; two rock bands namely Beyond The Break and This Way Up (both with local connections), Koribantez giving us a bit of Latin / Jazz Infusion, plus acoustic artist Ali Finneran – there may yet be more. This is a FREE event (donations always welcome!), so please come along and show these artists how much we appreciate live music in Broad Town! The venue is the village hall, doors open at 8pm. Thanks to the Social Club for providing the bar and letting us take over their evening.

We’ll also be providing PA services to the School Fete on the 11th June and will have Big Gig tickets for sale with discounts for group purchases, so round up your family and friends and benefit from your bulk buy. Standard ticket prices are Adults over 16: £15, 12 – 16 year olds inclusive: £5 and under 12s: free.

We’re still working hard at improving the Big Gig yet again and making steady progress. We have had more luck with sponsorship, with those long term supporters Broad Town Cars agreeing financial support for the 6th year running – many thanks to them. If you know of any potential sponsors or just wish to make suggestions about the Big Gig, please get in touch by emailing secretary@broadtownshow.co.uk or contacting any of the committee directly.

20th April 2011  We are still working on the music and have added more bands to give you the biggest and best ever line up. To get you all in the party mood we have one of the premier local covers bands - Echo. Providing a foot stomping mix of roots and blues, Jim Blair will be performing on the bigger and better Marquee Stage (sponsored by Advanced Domestic Solutions), plus we are working on putting together a very special band to get you jiving in the jungle (well, field) with some full on Rockabilly!

But, if you can’t wait until September to hear some quality music, keep the middle of June free for the return of the Little Gig. With a variety of bands, plus some decent real ale, come along and help us decide who gets to play in the final few slots at the Big Gig in September. We’ll also be providing PA services to the School Fete on the 11th June and will have Big Gig tickets for sale with discounts for group purchases, so round up your family and friends and benefit from your bulk buy. Standard ticket prices are Adults over 16: £15, 12 – 16 year olds inclusive: £5 and under 12s: free.

We have had some limited success with Sponsorship, but this month it is your opportunity to sponsor a band! We will give your sponsorship acknowledgement in the programme and announcements on the night and we feel this is a fun way to promote your business, or for just a group of you to contribute to our worthy causes in a fun way. Don’t forget sponsorship is a legitimate business expense and tax deductable. If you can help, please get in touch by emailing secretary@broadtownshow.co.uk or contacting any of the committee directly.

24th February 2011  We can now confirm this year's national charity will be Help for Heroes, with any funds available fo distribution being split between H4H and local good causes.

22nd February 2011  It seems our little old village event has become quite popular in music circles; to date we have over thirty (yes, 30!) bands or artists keen to appear at the Big Gig on the 3rd September, including a couple of very exciting bookings, which we shall reveal in due course! Following on from the success of Stayed As Quo last year, we intend to seek out another top-notch tribute band and have a number of irons in the fire. Keep an eye out for details of Little Gigs soon too. If you can’t wait for the newsletter, we will be making announcements over the next few weeks on Facebook.

Whilst bands are in plentiful supply, we do not have many sponsors, so to all you budding Alan Sugars out there, how about sponsoring the Big Gig 2011. You can contribute as little or as much as you like. You can sponsor a band, a stage, the tickets, the wristbands or the whole event. You can advertise in the programme. We can publicise your contribution, or if you want to be an anonymous donor, then we can manage that as well – don’t forget sponsorship is a legitimate business expense and tax deductable. If you can help, please get in touch by emailing secretary@broadtownshow.co.uk or contacting any of the committee directly.

25th January 2011  First, the important news: the 6th Broad Town Big Gig will be held on the 3rd September 2011 – get that date in your diaries. We have a new and bigger committee than ever before, comprising Keith Newman (Chair), Marcus Galea (Vice-Chair), Chris King (Secretary), James Harvey-Samuel (Treasurer) and committee members Andrew Law, Matt Parry, Gill Richardson, Matt Rogers, Graham Wallace and Richard Wylie. Together, we plan to make this year’s event even better than before!

We have already been approached by many bands to play at the Big Gig, but as always we are happy to hear of you suggestions. We are also pencilling in one or perhaps two Little Gigs in the Village Hall, more details of that in subsequent newsletters.

As always, we face the battle of rising costs of our event whilst delivering value for a reasonable ticket price – if you, or your business, can help by way of sponsorship of the Big Gig, we have a number of opportunities to advertise your enterprise, either in the programme, on tickets and wristbands or on site on the day. Please get in touch by emailing biggig@broadtownshow.co.uk or contacting any of the committee directly.

14th January 2011  Happy New Year to all you Big Giggers! We have a new and larger committee so you can expect great things this year:-). More news soon on the 2011 Big Gig - our first meeting will be on the 21st January.

19th July 2010  Plenty of exciting news from your Big Gig committee this month! Firstly, we have been awarded a grant from Wiltshire Council for half the cost of a large inflatable stage cover, which is being manufactured as you read this. With the two large marquees, additional tents and this stage cover, the Big Gig is now realistically an all weather event.

We have also been working hard to perfect the band line-up – this month’s additions are DoubleyouB (local talents Ellie and Jaz live in the village) and Stayed As Quo, a top tribute act to rock us towards midnight (I’ll let you guess who they are paying tribute too!). That makes 10 live acts for your enjoyment and a lot of music to get through – doors will open at 16:30 this year with the first act on at 17:00 so plan to get there early. That, together with the other fun lined up too – bucking bronco, drum workshops etc – it’s going to be the best yet.

We will be advertising the event much harder this year and you should see roadside banners around the locale soon. We are determined to sell every ticket, so if you have not reserved yours yet, contact James on 731108 or email biggigtickets@broadtownshow.co.uk asap. We will also have a ticket outlet in Bassett, thanks to Allan of Bassett Books in the high street, so no excuses! Remember, at least 25% of all profits will go to Help for Heroes, so round up friends, relatives and strangers and bring them along.

And you can help us make the 5th Big Gig the most successful ever. Click here for a poster that cunningly doubles as a booklet. Once read and digested, stick the poster in your car window, on a notice board at work or anywhere visible to make sure we are in the happy position of a sell out. And if you want more, get in touch. Looking forward to seeing you all on the 4th September!

Ticket prices are as follows: Adults over 16: £15 (£12 on production of a student card), 12 – 16 year olds inclusive: £5 and under 12s: free.

28th June 2010  Thanks to all who bought your tickets at the school fete on the 12th June – as soon as they are in stock towards the end of July, we’ll be in touch. The line-up for the Big Gig is taking shape nicely, with acts confirmed so far: Kicaberry, The Wutars, Napoleon In Rags (who  appeared at Glastonbury on the BBC Introducing stage), Bullfrog Blues, Theo Altieri, The Off Chance, Makin Muzic (choir) and Pignose, with more in the pipeline.

We are also looking to give you some different, additional entertainment. Martin Ranscombe a.k.a. “the drum guru” will be running “Drum Fun” – informal, interactive percussion sessions for all age groups (and for free!), plus we have booked a bucking bronco to challenge your equine skills – as well as the usual well stocked bar, BBQ, tea, coffee and delicious cakes! Ticket prices are as follows: Adults over 16: £15 (£12 on production of a student card), 12 – 16 year olds inclusive: £5 and under 12s: free. Don’t forget, 25% of any profits will go to Help for Heroes this year.

Feel free to drop us an email on biggig@broadtownshow.co.uk with any suggestions or comments, and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook & Twitter.

27th May 2010  Thanks to all who attended the Little Gig on the 14th May, a very successful night and we hope you had a good time. We’d be interested in your feedback on the bands and whether you’d like to see more live music events in the village hall.

With regards to bands at the Big Gig, we are planning on bringing you the most music packed event yet – TEN bands or artists will perform on the night, split between two stages. We are still seeing as much live music as possible and are planning a real diverse mix of genres – keep an eye on the website for updates.

We have set the ticket prices for this year’s event – unfortunately price increases are necessary although we have restructured the price bands to try and mitigate the cost for a whole family. Ticket prices are as follows: Adults over 16: £15 (£12 on production of a student card), 12 – 16 year olds inclusive: £5 and under 12s: free. However, we will have a stall at the School Fete on the 12th June 2010. If you reserve and pay for your tickets at the School Fete (or directly with us by the 12th June - biggigtickets@broadtownshow.co.uk), we will give you an early bird discount of a whopping 20%. Feel free to drop us an email with any suggestions or comments, and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook & Twitter.

19th April 2010  A little surprise for all you Big Gig fans – we will be holding a ‘Little Gig’ on Friday 14th May in the village hall, 8:00pm onwards – and it’s a recession busting, election avoiding FREE event! We aim to have 3 live acts, a barrel of real ale and are planning a good time for all, so hope to see plenty of you there supporting these skilled musicians who are donating their talents for free. The bar will be open as usual – a big, big thank you to the social club for supporting us yet again :-). All ages welcome – bring the whole family!

We’re slowly dragging ourselves into the 21st century as we are now on Facebook (so many friends already), plus we also have MySpace, Twitter and Blogspot! All links are available from our website, so feel free to follow the Big Gig via your favourite social network and get the latest info on what’s going on.

We’ve had some success with sponsorship but as ever need more – please think whether you or your employer or someone else you know could help out. We will be producing a programme run of circa 2,000 copies to be distributed around the area prior to the Big Gig, so an advert in the programme will reach out into the community – and remember it is all for a range of good causes, including Help for Heroes. Sponsorship details are available on the website. Feel free to drop us an email with any suggestions or comments.

Do you need a small stage? The Village Show Committee has acquired a small stage (for use as a B stage at the next Big Gig), but as always we're happy for other village organisations to use it, perhaps for a small donation. The stage is 2.44m square, comes in 4 sections and has 2 heights - approximately 22cm and 50cm. For more info please email us.

20th March 2010 It’s all spadework at the moment, with the odd pleasurable trip to see some live music. We’ve ‘signed up’ two bands for the 4th September – The Wutars and Kicaberry, two quality acts we think you’ll love – listen to some sample tracks at the 2010 page on the website. We still have plenty of irons in the fire music wise and hope to present a broad spectrum of musical genres, so more news soon.

Another date for your diaries: Sunday, 18th April when we will be painting the lock up. We need your help to get the job done as quickly as possible, so please turn up (in old clothes, bring sandwiches) from 10:00 am onwards – if you have any old rollers and brushes, please bring them as we want to minimise the cost. Keep an eye on the website as we may have to cancel in case of inclement weather.

We are working hard to secure sponsorship but it is tough going at the moment. If you know of any benevolent local business or corporate who would be willing to put something back into the community and be associated with our fundraising efforts for local organisations and Help for Heroes, please get in touch as soon as possible. There is a document on the Sponsors page of the website detailing what’s on offer for various levels of funding. Feel free to drop us an email or telephone 739268 with any suggestions for sponsors and / or bands, or more information on the use of the marquees.

20th February 2010 Thanks for all your suggestions of bands for this year's Big Gig - we have a good selection to choose from and will be seeing as many of the artists as possible performing live in the next couple of months. More suggestions are always welcome, so keep them coming! We are also busy with the planning process as well as organising some much needed maintenance (painting) of the lock up, so watch this space for an opportunity to be involved.

This year, we have decided that as well as helping various village organisations, we will also donate 25% of the proceeds to a national charity. Our chosen charity for 2010 is Help For Heroes (http://www.helpforheroes.org.uk). Please help us in any way you can to raise funds for the village and what we feel is a very worthy cause.

15th January 2010 We have a date! Having consulted the various sporting and entertainment calendars, we are pleased to announce that the 5th Broad Town Big Gig will take place on Saturday the 4th September 2010.

Thanks to all those who turned up on Friday 15th Jan to our informal open evening. We had a lively discussion around music, other possible entertainment, site layout and when to hold the Big Gig and we hope to implement some of the suggestions this year. We will be looking for suitable bands / artists in the next few months, plus searching for sponsors to help out with the financials, so if you have any suggestions for either, please get in touch.

Are there any village organisations / individuals out there who could make use of the marquees and other facilities for a village event around that time? Perhaps you’ve thought about resurrecting the flower / produce show, a village BBQ or Pig Roast, some kind of sporting event with a social element? The Big Gig committee would be delighted to provide advice and moral support if needed; it would be great if we could give the village two remarkable events and bring the community together.

Feel free to drop us an email on biggig@broadtownshow.co.uk with any suggestions for sponsors and / or bands, or more information on the use of the marquees.

11th November 2009 The AGM was held on Monday 9th November 2009 in the village hall - thanks to all who made the effort to attend. Elected officers for the next year are Marcus Galea (Chair), James Harvey-Samuel (Treasurer) and Keith Newman (Secretary). Gill Richardson agreed to serve on the committee for another year and we give a warm welcome to Matt Parry and Graham Wallace as additional members.

Planning is already underway for the Big Gig 2010 (our fifth!!) - date tba. We will be holding an open evening so you can come along and tell us what you want at the Big Gig next year - styles of music, additional entertainment, in fact any ideas from any of you, young or old. Details of the open evening to follow.

14th July 2009 Yet another successful Big Gig, well done to the organising committee. We are awaiting some photos, but there's a 10 minute taster video on the Big Gig 09 Video page - enjoy!

25th June 2009 Tickets are selling well, we expect to get close to our numbers limit so our advice is get your tickets soon. Tickets are printed & can be collected from James & Teresa at 1 Church Farm Rise (house with the banner outside). The beer & cider is now ordered so all we need now is some help putting up the marquee the week before, please check back to the web site for the planned night for doing this.

7th April 2009 The 11th July is the date for your diaries - the date of the 2009 BIG GIG! We are considering having family rounders and children's adventure trail in the afternoon to make full use of the marquee and encourage as many of you from the village to participate. We will have a stand at the School Fete on the 13th June where you can listen to a greater range of tracks from our artists than on our website, plus you will be able to pick up any reserved tickets or purchase tickets, so bring your cash or cheque books. Ticket reservations may be made now emailing us (in advance £10 adults, £4 children (3 – 16 inc), on the gate £15 and £5 respectively) - the ticket price includes an item from the BBQ. It really does help us to plan if you get your reservations in early, so please get in contact asap.

28th May 2008 The 12th July seems to be just around the corner now, and we are working hard with preparations for the Big Gig. Bands are sorted, so all the effort is going into the logistics of putting on the show – stages, sound, lights, bar, licences, programmes, advertising, side-shows etc – phew! We will have a stand at the School Fete on the 14th June where you can listen to a greater range of tracks from our artists than on our website, plus you will be able to pick up your reserved tickets or purchase tickets, so bring your cash or cheque books. There will be a draw for all who collect or buy tickets at the fete, the winner having the cost of 2 tickets reimbursed!

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!

28th April 2008 Exciting News! Not only can we now confirm the line up for the Big Gig 2008, but we can also reveal that this year we will have a second stage for our acoustic artists, keeping you entertained right throughout the evening. On the band stage, we have The 211, Hip Route, HiFlyer, The Mentalists and The Heys. Featuring on the Acoustic Stage we have Will Blake, Josh Kumra and Dave Mwaniki, the latter travelling fresh from appearances at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East to be with us. Have a listen to any of these artists on the Big Gig Virtual iPod  – there’s 16 sample tracks for you to enjoy.

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!

17th March 2008 We’ve been busy searching for the quality of entertainment we know you all expect, and are excited by the fruits of our labours so far! We are delighted The Heys have agreed to return and will be joined by HiFlyer, The Mentalists and Hip Route. With more bands to be confirmed, 2008 could be the best Big Gig yet. You can listen to tracks from all the artists on the Big Gig Virtual Ipod on our website.

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!

3rd March 2008 Big Gig 2008 - 12th July - note it in your diaries!!!!! The Broad Town Village Show AGM will be held on Wednesday, 12^th March 2008 in the Village Hall at 8pm. Please come along, give us any feedback and show some support – new members on the committee are always welcome. We envisage handing over the reigns for 2009 to a fresh committee with their own ideas and approach. So, with a bit of succession planning in mind, if anyone is interested in learning the ropes whilst the present committee are leading the preparations, please either attend the AGM or contact us via email - biggig@broadtownshow.co.uk

24th May 2007 Tickets are selling fast - thank you for all the reservations we've had so far, it looks like we're heading towards a sell-out. If you haven't reserved your tickets yet, you can either reserve them by emailing biggig@broadtownshow.co.uk. More info on ticket prices in our news section.

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 14th July - see the Big Gig 2007 page.

Bequest. Many of you will recall that the late Ken Bourton was a long term supporter of the village show and our honourary president. We have heard from the executors of Ken's estate that they are now in a position to release his bequest of £1,000 for the village show funds - thank you Ken.

24th April 2007 Bands - we now have 8! Details on the Big Gig 2007 page, plus new tracks. Quick Move Properties of Wootton Bassett joined Broad Town Cars, Plantronics, Rapid Hire (Swindon) Ltd, Advanced Domestic Solutions and Watson Petroleum in generously donating towards our expenses. And we have made a donation for the restoration of an ancient village map - more details on the News section.

28th March 2007 Preparationscontinue 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. Plus, we have a competition for you this month; you will need to visit the Big Gig 2007 page.

Sponsorship. The list of sponsors is growing - more in the News section.

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.

14th March 2007 The AGM was held at the village hall tonight - your new committee is as published to the right. Thanks to all who attended and offered support. The minutes and accounts will be available upon request - please contact a member of the committee. Our thanks go to Bob Clarke, who resigned his post as Chairman to pursue his own venture, for all his efforts to make the inaugural Big Gig such a success and our welcome is extended to Caroline Maloney who volunteered to serve on to the committee, and was immediately promoted to Vice Chairman!

8th March 2007 Been fiddling a little with the website. We now have better slideshows of last year's Big Gig, plus added a bootleg video of Vector we found on YouTube - the cheek of it! Check it out on the Big Gig 06 Photos page

21st February 2007 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.

21st January 2007 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. 

8th August 2006 Thanks to everyone that attended the first ever Broad Town Big Gig on the 22nd July. We raised in excess of £1,800 to bolster the Village Show funds, and plan to distribute £500 to good causes within the village. If you are, or know of, an organisation in need of a small donation, than please contact Bob Clarke (731853) or Warwick Mattick (731565) - all applications considered. Plus there is a now a Big Gig CD available for £3 - click here for details

27th July 2006 Phew!  Still busy, busy, busy for the committee sorting out post Big Gig stuff, but wasn't it a blast! We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves (except for the two hours when it was absolutely...well, teeming down on Saturday afternoon - we did spend 10 minutes checking out the insurance policy re cancellation!), and apart from a few teething problems, we feel it went well. The bands were excellent, the crowd excellent, and thanks to everyone who helped, and everyone who came.

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.

11th July 2006 We've got a fourth band! The Streams, a talented bunch of new musicians planning to be bigger than Busted will appear live at the Broad Town Big Gig. We are all exhausted but excited that the big day is nearly here - and we're looking forward to seeing hundreds of you on the night!

19th May 2006 Bowling for the Pig has been resurrected, in memory of Ken Bourton - so get practicing and win yourself  the Big Gig Pig! Thank you for your ticket reservations - ticket printing is in hand, so we will be distributing tickets soon. Those of you that haven't reserved yet - WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!! All this and more in the News and Links pages.

24th April 2006 It is with sadness that we learnt our President, Mr Ken Bourton, passed away at the weekend. Our thoughts and condolences go to his family.

The Big Gig 2012 Committee

Please feel free to contact the committee with your ideas, suggestions and offers of help!