week with one of the organisers proclaiming it a success.

Corporation of St. George's secretary Nancy Hooper said Heritage Nights had improved over previous years.

"I think it was extremely successful, certainly more so than in the past.

There were far more people,'' she said.

Ms Hooper estimated that nightly crowds at the Tuesday night party in King's Square fluctuated from a low of 600 to a maximum of 1,000 with the figures at the low end of the scale coming courtesy of the weather.

"The rain did not lend itself to us,'' she noted.

Ms Hooper put the success of the event down to teamwork.

"I think that it was probably the working relationships between all the players. There were a lot of folks involved and the Chamber of Commerce coordinated things very well.

"All the players worked well together and cooperated with each other. That's not to say we didn't have our share of problems but I think that when problems arose we dealt with them quickly and no one noticed.'' Beside the local performers there was also entertainment from off the cruise ships.

And the spectators ran the gamut from cruisers to West Enders. "We had locals from the other end of the Island coming down to see us.'' Ms Hooper said plans in the work for next year's festival included getting more vendors on board and extending its schedule to get it in line with the Harbour Night festivals in Hamilton.

"Right now we start later than them and finish earlier,'' she pointed out.

But the two would be kept separate, she stressed.

"There is a different aura to Heritage Nights. St. George's is different to Hamilton. For one thing it is much nicer,'' the patriotic East Ender joked.