Piña Colada Festival heartbreak as handmade decorations destroyed

Since it was first held in 2021, the tropical-themed festival has become one of the most popular events in Northwich, bringing hundreds of people into the town centre.

One organisation which has embraced the festival is the Toppers Of Northwich, a community yarn bombing group, whose members have spent the last three years building up their display of decorations to brighten up the town.

But to their dismay, after the latest festival day on Saturday, August 17, the group was heartbroken to find more than half of its knitted and crocheted display items had been destroyed, damaged or stolen.

Katie Naylor Brown founded the group and has seen it grow from just 10 members to more than a hundred.

She said: "Unfortunately overnight most of the knitted and crochet Piña Colada decorations have been stolen, set alight or damaged.

Some of the decorations in place ahead of the Piña Colada Festival (Image: Supplied)

"The postbox topper outside Rymans has gone, as have most of the bollard covers.

"It was such an amazing day on Saturday, but for our community group it's left us feeling heartbroken.

"We've been devastated to find over half the display gone or destroyed.

"We have built the display up over the last three years and the time and cost to replace it is unthinkable.

Piña Colada Festival decorations were damaged or stolen (Image: Supplied)

"We thought we would be celebrating [at tonight's meeting], but instead I'm going to have to tell members their months and months of hard work has gone.

"I feel physically sick about having to do that.

"We always get some vandalism, but what was done Saturday night was the total destruction of our work, I just don't know how we come back from this.

"We are a self-funded group, we don't have bags of money to replace the work."

Included in the missing or destroyed items is a 10ft crocheted palm tree, which formed part of the display outside Goblin Coffee & Beer in Witton Walk and was made by Katie herself.

She has issued an appeal for anyone with one of the intact decorations to return it, or help support the group in replacing the lost items by donating to its fundraising page.

One of the decorations had been set alight (Image: Supplied)

She added: "Even the 10ft crochet palm tree has been stolen from our display outside Goblin.

I'm just devastated as I personally made that piece. If anyone has it, can you please hand it in.

"If anyone wants to donate to our Go Fund Me so we can replace this, it would really help.

"Toppers Of Northwich have loved decorating the town for the Piña Colada Festival, but we will have to rethink it for next year.

"Anything we make goes into storage for the following year. If anyone has any of the decorations or finds any can you please hand them back to the group.

"We also have a special Christmas display we are creating with vulnerable people from our community, they are going to see this and question if it will happen to their work too.

Decorations on bollards in Northwich (Image: Supplied)

"We are just all feeling devastated."

Toppers Of Northwich meets twice a week, from 7pm to 9pm on Mondays at The Very Green Grocery in Manchester Road, and from 1pm to 4pm on Thursdays at the Shurlach Methodist Church in Rudheath.

If anyone finds any of the stolen work, please can they contact Katie via kathrynbrown1871@gmail.com.

Donated yarns can be dropped off at The Very Green Grocery or Shurlach Methodist Church.