80’s Retro Festival goes back to the future

The 1980s were this year’s theme for the charity event in the grounds of the Peninsula. There was children’s entertainment, live music and dancing.

Guernsey Revival chairman Jeff Fox said he was thrilled with how Friday and Saturday went.

‘It’s fantastic,’ he said on Saturday afternoon.

‘We were a bit nervous this morning [when it was raining]. We had a wet weather contingency, but it has all been OK.’

There were 700 tickets sold in advance and many more turned out on the day. Mr Fox was hopeful that more than 1,000 people came along.

The event is a charity fundraiser, with the money raised going to local causes. The crowds were really starting to grow by mid-afternoon on Saturday, with a number of young bands on the stage, as well as a performance of wheel chairography.

Among the crowd was a couple with a bit more to celebrate than most.

Andy and Tessa Lucas were celebrating their first wedding anniversary on Saturday and both were fully getting into the 1980s theme.

Mr Lucas said as he was only a youngster in the 1980s, and was having a lot more fun at the festival.

‘I haven’t been before,’ he said.

‘I think it is fantastic to have events like this. I just wish we had more.’

The event was also quite special for Mrs Lucas. She had been due to take part in the Strictement ballroom dancing competition recently. But after months of preparation, she was struck down with an illness before the show and never had a chance to perform.

But on Saturday she was finally able to show off her moves in public as she performed to the festival crowd.

While the latest festival was focused on the 1980s, there were still hints of the previous decades.

This was the third time the festival has been held, with the first focusing on the 1950s and 1960s, while the second focused on the 1970s. Mr Fox said they hoped to hold the festival again, but it did not necessarily mean they would go to the 1990s next.