Fears have been raised that the Wymondham Music Festival could fold in the next five years unless some fresh blood comes forward to get involved in the organising committee.

The annual two week festival, which will be celebrating its 16th anniversary this year, attracts hundreds of visitors to its programme of events at venues across the historic market town.

But its organising committee warned that the festival was in danger of ending if no one came forward to take on its running.

At a well-attended annual public meeting on Monday chairman John Wood gave notice that there will be changes in the 20-strong organising team over the next few years.

He said that most trustees and some committee members are now well into pensionable age with many having been with the festival since the beginning and some have expressed a wish to step back from their roles.

The trustees and committee have decided to start a process of change intended to put a new management team in place within the next five years and it was 'essential' that new members come forward to provide the festival with new people, new ideas and new vitality.

Mr Wood said: 'The festival team hope that many of these changes will have taken place by 2016. Meanwhile wide publicity will be given to the call for new members, preparatory work will be done on procedures, systems and records, and volunteers who come forward will be briefed and given the chance to play a part at once in running the festival on present lines. But what emerges may look very different from what we have now.'

The Wymondham Music Festival began back in 1996 as a small series of concerts and quickly expanded into a two week series of events to become one of the highlights of south Norfolk's social and cultural calendar. The festival also offers music education for local people.

Mr Wood added: 'If this process does not result in finding a new team then the festival as we will have known it for 20 years will cease. However, the charity will continue. The trust deed does not refer specifically to running a festival and the objects refer only in general terms to music education. The Trustees could decide to offer other services to music in the Wymondham area, and a festival could be revived whenever there was the enthusiasm to do so.'

The 2012 music festival will run from Saturday, June 23 to Sunday, July 8 with the official launch of the programme on Saturday, May 5.

Offers of help, comments and suggestions should be sent to John Wood on 01953 602051 or e-mail j.r.wood@lineone.net or to Barbara Randall on 01953 601939 or e-mail office@wymfestival.org.uk

For more information, visit the festival's website at www.wymfestival.org.uk