Douglas Borough Council housing manager Aalin Cunningham, in her capacity as honorary treasurer of the Manx Amateur Drama Federation, (MADF) is celebrating jointly with MADF chairman Michael Lees for the Federation having won the Department of Economic Development Best Event of the Year tourism award for the Easter Festival of Plays. Mrs Cunningham explained that the festival attracted leading amateur theatre companies from the British Isles and was widely acknowledged not only as ‘the friendly festival’ but also as the benchmark for similar events in the UK. She added: ‘We were delighted to receive the award on behalf of everyone at MADF. This is an award which is nominated by the public and acknowledges the tremendous hard work and professionalism of the dedicated team - backstage and front of house - led by our chairman, Michael Lees, that results in a varied programme of plays, all of which are of outstanding high quality.’ Ends