Documents

The 1991 Pilton Festival, as advertised in the Pilton with Ashford Magazine in July of that year, was held from 19th - 21st July. The programme included: 'A Floral Tribute to Europe over the weekend', 'A Musical Evening' in the Church of St Mary's on the Friday, and 'Festival Evensong' on the Sunday.
On the Saturday the Traditional Pilton Street Market and Fayre took place and there was an exhibition 'Pilton Past and Present' in the Church Hall. The Grand Procession took place at 3pm and there was a performance of the 1991 Pilton Pageant 'Amadeus Abroad' (so clearly the Green Man had yet to arrive in Pilton). This was a celebration of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the Europe of his time on the 200th anniversary of his death.
On Saturday Pilton Bluecoat School held 'The Pilton Festival Country Dance' with the Bloatertown Country Dance Band.
The September 1991 Magazine reported the highlights. For a start the weather was ideal - which it has often been. John Piper played the organ for the concert including Sue Sprague from the English National Opera. There were so many visitors to the church to see the flowers that they almost had to close the doors and raised £500.
There were fifty stalls in Pilton Street which was 'packed almost solid' at one time. There was an exhibition by the Pilton Arts Group - with a bouncy castle in the courtyard organised by Pilton Playgroup. 'Beautiful costumed dancers' from the three dance school and the Pilton Guides performed dances to delight the crowds. The 'Pilton Past & Present' exhibition was organised by Bill Forward, Churchwarden, and 'attracted a steady stream of interested people'. The Pageant 'Amadeus Abroad' started with the young Mozart with the young Mozart, his father and sister - played by Matthew Fox, Stuart Fox and Alison Maggs - entering Pilton Street in a horse-drawn brougham with coachmen and then moving to Rotary Gardens. The pageant included a string quartet 'conducted' by Mozart and fireworks signifying the French Revolution.
The Pageant processed to the Church Tower, where there had been a peal of bells, and witnessed a 'thrilling descent .... by abseilers from Skern Lodge Adventure Centre depicting the fall of Quebec'. The final scene of the pageant, masterminded and presented by Hamish Patrick, consisted of a circus procession with horses (one dressed as an elephant), a goat, dogs, tumblers and jugglers and it all ended with the string quartet playing by the fountain and pond.