A RECORD crowd of approximately 1,500 people enjoyed this year’s Milland Bonfire and Fireworks Evening on the village’s recreation ground on Saturday.
Organised by the bonfire and fireworks committee on behalf of the parish council, the event has been an annual fixture in the Milland calendar for more than 50 years.
John Collier, who is on the organising committee, said: “We always receive a lot of positive feedback about the quality of our firework display and we once again increased our budget for fireworks so as not to disappoint the crowd.
“The organising committee would like to thank the many people from the village who helped so tirelessly and in so many ways with organising and running the event.”
Despite the large crowd, the best guy and best carved pumpkin competitions for children attracted fewer entries than normal.
The standard of entries was high and the winners were Milland Nursery School and James Vigar with the best guys and Ellan Hart and Lucy Wrigley with their carved pumpkins. All of the winners received a certificate and boxes of sweets.
Food and drink was in high demand with the hog roast proving popular, and a number of village groups also used bonfire night as an opportunity to raise funds.
The sports club ran the bar and sold mulled wine, and the village hall team sold homemade soup and hot chocolate as well as organising a raffle. Hollycombe Primary School sold sweets, homemade cakes and glow-sticks, and Milland Stores sold hot dogs and coffee as well as all its usual range of products.
More than 30 volunteers helped on the night as safety marshals, ticket collectors, food servers or by providing specialist electrical and catering services.
All profits from the event will be distributed to Milland based charities, voluntary organisations and good causes.