A FESTIVAL co-founder has been praised for his work with several local institutions and fundraising. 

Dave Crossley, born in Ulverston, is the director and co-founder of Another Fine Fest which is one of the year’s most popular annual events.

His work has also been used to raise funds for St Mary's Hospice and the Ulverston Food Project.

He has over twenty years’ experience in promotion of music and live acts.

Founded in 2014, Another Fine Fest has offered numerous artists, performers, and local talents an opportunity to perform for the community.

Dave said: "I was born in Ulverston. I moved back here around 15 years ago after completing my degree in Lancaster and following a decade of DJing and promoting my ‘Monster Monster’ club night in Manchester.

"I returned with dreams of creating a town wide celebration, incorporating the very best local, national and international arts.

"Having been a regular festival goer from a very early age, events such as Reading, Monsters of Rock, Edinburgh Fringe and particularly Glastonbury were major inspirations for me. The vast and varied programme at Glastonbury with pretty much all tastes catered for and a mix of the weird and the wonderful is what I was hoping to emulate.

"A while after I had returned to Ulverston, my friend Mark Greenhow, owner and manager of the Laurel and Hardy Museum wanted me to help him host a celebration of Stan Laurel at the Museum.

"I jumped at the chance, thinking that it would be perfect to incorporate this into my town wide plans.

"In 2014 Another Fine Fest was born, a celebration of our man Stan and this wonderful town we call Ulverston.

"A free, family friendly, multi-arts festival incorporating live music, DJs, street art, street theatre, comedy, circus, magic and more.

"The event raises funds for St Mary's Hospice and Ulverston Food Project, two absolutely fantastic charitable organisations doing vital work to support our local community.

"We have been blown away by the generosity of the public over the last nine years of this festival.

"It literally would not exist otherwise and we want to extend our most heartfelt thanks to each and every person that has contributed via our crowdfunding campaigns, sponsorship and advertisements etc. Also at the actual event, our wonderful volunteers help us with collections.

"The money raised helps us to host the following year's free festivities and ensure all the acts are paid, with half of the proceeds going to the festival and the other half being split between the aforementioned charities.

"We are delighted to be able to give £984 each to both St Mary's and Ulverston Food Project this year, adding to the thousands that have been donated over the previous years of our event."