Annual Good Friday celebrations at Horseshoe Bay got the green light today after Government issued the necessary permit to organisers Chewstick.Environment Minister Sylvan Richards said the charity was given the good news this afternoon.“While new in Government, I have found out that the key to getting things done is communication,” he said.Mr Richards said he was a longtime supporter of Chewstick and would be in attendance at the KiteFest celebrations on March 29.The Department of Parks issued a press release earlier today stating that the charity hadn’t applied for a permit to host KiteFest.Chewstick complained yesterday that Government had ignored its repeated requests.“Upon hearing of Chewstick's dilemma via the media yesterday, the Department contacted Chewstick to resolve the matter. Chewstick was unable to indicate when they had made an application, only stating that it had been sometime in the fall,” the Parks Department spokesman said.“The Department finds this curious as Chewstick has obtained permits from the Department of Parks previously and is aware of the process. For example, on April 5 last year Chewstick applied for and received a permit for an event on April 6. Further, the Department has provided Chewstick with the contact information of a Department officer in order to ensure that permits are expedited.”The spokesman continued: “During yesterday's discussion, the Department also advised Chewstick that a permit for KiteFest could be immediately approved and collected this morning, Friday, March 8. Chewstick indicated that it was not able to accept the permit.“The Department of Parks values the use of our National Parks for wholesome family activities and has been pleased to partner with community organisations such as Chewstick to this end. The Department regrets the confusion that has surrounded Chewstick's efforts to host KiteFest and trusts that the arrangements we have put in place with them will ensure the smooth processing of all future applications.”The Royal Gazette reported yesterday that Chewstick had cancelled the annual Good Friday event claiming that its efforts to secure a Government permit for the beach failed.Chewstick Foundation co-founder Najib Chentouf said the charity applied to the Department of Parks for permission in October, but several e-mails and “countless calls” went unanswered.Even if a permit was granted today, it would be “impossible” to organise the event in time for March 29, he said.“We literally haven’t had a response, and we recognise that the general election [last December] may have slowed things down but we applied for the permit more than two months before the election, and nearly three months after, we have yet to hear anything.”He continued: “It’s really unfortunate and disheartening because we inherited this event. For the first time, last year, it had no political affiliation and we were hoping to build on that this year.”Mr Chentouf suggested a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Parks could be established to eliminate the need for annual permit applications moving forward.“We’re quite open to what the long-term solutions could be,” he said.A request for sponsorship made to the Department of Tourism did not receive a formal response, Chewstick’s executive director Gavin Djata Smith added.The Ministry provided the “lion’s share of the funding” in 2012 but KiteFest would have survived this year without it, he said.“If we had confirmation from Parks, with enough lead-time we could have sourced private sector funding,” Mr Smith said.“At this point, without the permit and necessary sponsorship our ability to move the event forward is impossible.”Efforts to secure a response from the Parks Department were unsuccessful.Said a Tourism spokesman: “No formal requests for funds from Tourism to sponsor the event were made by the Chewstick Foundation this year.”The event was founded by the now defunct United Bermuda Party in the 1970s.Former party leader Kim Swan said news of the cancellation was “disturbing”.“I hope that the relevant OBA Government Minister responsible for Parks and the Minister of Tourism would step in and rectify the problem to allow this event — which has become a Bermuda National event — to continue to serve Bermuda,” he said.“For the record, KiteFest was a great United Bermuda Party initiative that far exceeded any expectations and became an iconic cultural event.Given the “trials and tribulations of the UBP” last year, it was only “fitting to render on to the people an event that was able to transcend politics”, Mr Swan added.“In my opinion, it is still time for this event to be salvaged if the will exists.“Hopefully the Government will recognise that the spirit of the Good Friday KiteFest — which is held at the time when we celebrate the greatest example to mankind — is worthy of their support.“I just think that whoever is involved should see this as an event worth salvaging. This Country needs events that brings members of the community together.”He continued: “It makes no sense to cancel this event when the biggest problem facing Bermuda today is its social problems and it’s not going to go away.“This was a ‘feel good’ event, and now we don’t even have that. Notwithstanding the religious aspect, this event did a lot of good, and now it too has been scratched.”