A successful canal festival?

Judging by the crowds coming past Gecko this has been a very successful festival. Attendees were being asked for donations to RWT funds of £2/head and I believe Saturday's total was something close to £20,000. Based on my observations, attendance on Sunday might have been greater. We have been to Ricky festival three times now over a period of seven years and I detected a shift in emphasis over this period.  There were many fewer old working boats than previously and there were no events exclusively for boaters.  The overall feeling I have is that the boats are just an adjunct to the festival, not a centrepiece.  If my feelings are correct I think it is a shame.  Banbury has a canal day in September where boats pay to moor on what is normally a free mooring and the public pay nothing to poke their heads in your windows.  I would hate it for Ricky to go that way. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the canal will feature more prominently in next year's festival.