The Big Busk raises £8,500 for Shrewsbury Ark charity

The event, held in memory of talented musician, poet and artist Ben Bebbington, who was killed in 2012 in an unprovoked attack, raised more than £8,500 when it was held in the town on April 1.

It is the biggest single total in the event’s five year history, and delighted organisers thanked the hundreds of performers, volunteers and thousands of visitors who helped raise the money which will be donated to the homelessness charity Shrewsbury Ark.

Although last year’s The Big Busk raised nearly £10,000 for Shrewsbury Ark, almost £4,500 of that came from two marathon 24-hour busks by Guitar Cubed and Paul Henshaw.

As well as revealing the total amount raised, event organisers announced the festival would not run in 2018, but would return bigger and better the following year.

Karen Paterson, one of the event’s organisers, said: “We want to say a massive thank you to everyone who took part in the Busk this year, whether through performing, volunteering or simply watching and donating.

“This is an incredible total and will go a long way to improving the lives of homeless and vulnerable people in Shropshire.”

The Big Busk filled Shrewsbury town centre with music during the day before events were held in a number of pubs in the evening.

The idea behind the festival is that all entertainment is free, with people only donating what they can afford.

All profits from the event go directly to Shrewsbury Ark, which relies almost entirely on charitable donations for its upkeep. It costs more than £120,000-a- year to keep the Ark running.

The event was supposed to be a one-off event in the year following Mr Bebbington’s death, but proved so popular with performers and visitors alike that it has now become an annual event.

But organisers today announced that next year they would be taking a break.

Ben’s sister Karen Higgins, one of the event’s founders, said: “The Big Busk team has decided, after five years, to take a break in 2018. But I must emphasise this is only a break - we will return in 2019.

“We want the event to continue for many years to come and to ensure this happens the team needs to re-energise as well as take a year to manage some of the challenges which arise from the Big Busk getting bigger.

“This year’s event was the biggest yet, with more than 100 acts taking part.

“The main organising team, made up of eight people, also have many wonderful personal milestones to focus on in 2018 including new babies, a wedding, possible house moves and new jobs.

“It seemed obvious to us that this alignment of personal events meant that we would not be able to donate enough time to pull off The Big Busk in 2018 to the standard we would want.

“I want to thank everybody who joined us this year and helped raise such an incredible sum for the Shrewsbury Ark – and we look forward to seeing you all in 2019.”