A HIGHLIGHT of Harborough's social calendar has been rescued by a team getting together late in the day to run it.
The Late Night Shopping event which takes place in the town in early December each year was at risk after volunteers failed to come forward to replace the previous organising committee who retired last year after decades of service to the town.
Th
e town's Chamber of Trade was due to take on the task but when Rebecca Holbrough, of Symitry IT in High Street, rejoined it after having her third child, she discovered no volunteers had stepped forward to organise the Late Night festive event.
She called a crisis meeting, inviting businesses and shops to discuss its future, hoping to rally people to help organise an event that attracts thousands of people to the town.
Mrs Holbrough has now been able to form a committee to organise this year's event. She will serve as chairman, previous committee member Martin Hill has agreed to stay on as treasurer, and Tim Thornton of T J Thornton Jeweller in Coventry Road will be secretary.
On Tuesday, the new committee met to discuss this year's event and Mrs Holbrough said it will be heavily backed and supported by last year's committee, including her predecessor Margaret Kenny, who will offer guidance and advice. To ease the way for the new committee, it was decided to keep the same basic format this year.
Mrs Holbrough said although she is aware of how much work there is still to do, she is confident the event will now be definitely going ahead.
"We have been taking the children to Late Night Shopping for years. Even before that my husband and I would come here.
"It is a community event and needs to be kept as a community and charity event and will definitely go ahead otherwise there would be a lot of unhappy people," she added.
Anyone who wold like to get involved can contact her on 01858 462715.
