Heywood’s ‘Willy Wonka’ moment as gala photos look very different to flashy AI advert

Saturday, 19 September 2026 11:25

By David Murphy

A Heywood gala has been compared to Glasgow’s infamous Willy Wonka experience after photos from the event showed a considerably smaller set-up than the colourful promotional artwork.

The Heywood Community Gala advert depicted large fairground rides and promised a family funfair, live music and DJs, street food and children's entertainment.

The event was advertised as running from Friday 18 September until Sunday 20 September at The Pig and Whistle in Heywood.

Its promotional image generated by AI depicts large fairground rides, performers, balloons and crowds alongside a list of attractions including licensed bars, face painting, children's characters and games and information stalls.

Photos supplied from the venue on Saturday morning show around eight gazebos outside. The large fairground rides depicted in the promotional artwork are not visible in the photographs.

The difference has prompted comparisons on Facebook with the Willy Wonka-themed experience in Glasgow which attracted widespread attention in 2024 after visitors complained that the reality did not match its elaborate promotional imagery.

A Facebook page called Cameron Boland - Scam Event Watch & Awareness has been criticising the Heywood event and previously alleged it was a scam. The page can be found here; https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100095319109710

In its latest post, the page claimed Cameron Boland had said some of the biggest costs involved in the gala were security, staging and infrastructure, and production and entertainment.

The page alleged there was no stage and claimed performers were appearing on a rug between tables. It also questioned the security arrangements.

Those claims have not been independently verified; however, there have been multiple events captured by this page.

The same page published a warning on 9 September telling traders not to pay money upfront for stalls and made further allegations concerning previous events linked to Mr Boland.

A very similar event by the same organiser was forced to be cancelled by Salford City Council and GMP, the same 3-day event on 18, 19 and 20 August.

Those allegations have not been established as fact.

The photographs show activity taking place at The Pig and Whistle on Saturday but cannot establish everything available at the venue during the three-day event.

The tenant and operator of The Pig & Whistle, Kelly, defended the decision

to host the gala and said she was aware of concerns raised about an individual involved with the event.

She said the concerns had been discussed with her and that she had previously worked with the individual without experiencing any problems.

Kelly said: “The relevant council, licensing and police authorities have been informed about our event, and the appropriate licensing process has been followed. We have nothing to hide and will cooperate fully with any authority that wishes to speak to us.”