A few months ago, interested parties were asked to come forward if they wanted to get involved with a revived Waterside Arts Festival. I went along to the first meeting and somewhat casually mentioned that I knew a lot of cartoonists. Ears were noticeably pricked, not least because the New Forest has recently become the recipient of a large pot of Arts Council money. This money was partly down to the area where I live hving no theatres, cinemas or gallery space, so the community's access to the arts is incredibly limited. Subsequently, I was asked to put together some thoughts for a cartoon-themed day and, rather brilliantly, my proposal qualified for a grant.

Roll forward to the 8th July and Cartoon Capers formed part of the opening day of the Waterside Arts Festival. Five professional cartoonists (Rich Skipworth, Sue Burleigh, Chris Williams, Tim Harries and Achaz von Hardenberg) were on-hand drawing two-metre-tall photo opportunity boards, caricaturist Rich Nairn was furiously scribbling Watersiders, and Ian and Ellery and myself were live drawing requests and leading workshops. There was also a cartoon character competition and a cartoon gallery, using the windows of Hythe's shops to display the artwork. We also had a public board, where children and adults could cartoon for themselves. You could tell the event was popular by the public board alone, as it was almost full by lunchtime.

All-in-all, a well-received and popular day, with lots of direct engagement, cartoons drawn and happy faces, and that's despite the rain showers that greeted us at 8am. Feedback has been superb, so we're really hoping that it's something we can do all over again next year!