It is with great regret that we must announce the end of SkegMiniFest.

For 9 years, we brought people together from all over the country - and offshore - in Skegness for a weekend of Minis and Music on the East Coast.

Our thousands of guests raised thousands of pounds for Macmillan Cancer Support while listening to dozens of bands from all over the country and you were all responsible for making the event what it was.

Times change however, and with the global situation over the last 18 months, the loss of our venue and no suitable replacement and a number of other factors we don't need to go into, we are unable to carry on with SkegMiniFest. While we did our best to organise a 10th anniversary blowout, it just couldn't be done.

We must thank our many supporters, including:

• Phytos and Claire for the venue
• Bates Environmental for the toilets and showers
• Triple S Security for, er, security
• Chris Stubley for the sterling sound system
• the bands who all played on the trailer for free, sometimes in driving rain, without whom there would never have been an event
• Chris North for providing first aid services
• the many traders, both regulars and one-offs who came and joined us
• our donors of raffle prizes over the years
• all the people who have worked so hard from those humble beginnings as a barbeque weekend with a couple of other Mini Clubs

We're sorry to bring this news, and we know our guests - some of whom have been with us since day one - will be disappointed to hear we couldn't make 10 years. But we've had a blast and there are so many memories we've shared.

We'll shortly be contacting everyone who booked, to sort out refunds (or donations to Macmillan if you prefer), so if you did have a booking, look out for an email with more information.

We will also be doing one last handover to Macmillan Cancer Support to use up the last of the SkegMiniFest funds. The date for this is still to be decided.

Thank you once again for your support over the years,

The SkegMiniFest Team.