Cultural events in the lake district

As a bed and breakfast owner, I do wonder, why we don’t make more of the cultural events in the Lake District, especially musical culture and why it hasn’t quiet made a more significant economic impact on tourism. Why aren’t more visitors coming to the lake district because of our festivals and cultural events as well as coming for the mountains and the lakes. The nearest big centre is Manchester- about an hour and half away- with  the Hallè, the BBC Philharmonic and the excellent RNCM Concert Series but  were’re not that close to this lively musical scene of Manchester.

The Lake District Summer Music Festival makes a noble effort with some first class chamber concerts and offers the  opportunity for young budding professionals to work with and perform with world renowned artists. The Festival starts on August 10th with Ex Cathedra and then there are performances, for example, from Fretwork, Trio de Palma and various quartets such as the Chillingirian as well as some fairly contemporary whacky concerts. I do wonder, even though I am a Trustee for this festival, if it were to run a concert series in autumn or spring it would make more of an mark and impact as the type who come to the Lakes in the shoulder months are more likely to go to such concerts ?

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Contrast this with Lakes Alive- that runs throughout the year with some wonderful eclectic music-drama, outdoor theatre, street theatre and then the mountain, film and food festivals, Ulverstone- what can I say about  a town known as the festival town with festivals, I think, every month- the Laundry Theatre with is association with Victoria Wood and Theatre by the Lake and its association with Melvin Bragg

And yet  the people staying in the hotels and bed and breakfasts are not here specifically for a cultural events in the lake district. What are we doing wrong?

I read an interesting article about what they are doing in Bristol to encourage people to go to classical music and I wish we could follow suit. But I fear the traditional, conservative cautious nature of the lakes and the people who run these cultural events in the Lake District would prevent something as radical as what they have done at Bristol

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