Last year, as indeed for several past years, there had been a very successful Autumn Fair, initially run by the Friends and more recently by St Peter’s. However to give it a new look and to reflect more accurately what it was all about, it was ‘rebranded’ ‘The Festive Fayre.’ With her experience and contacts from the very successful Summer Fête, Margaret McManus co-ordinated the event whilst Kate McGregor was also responsible for certain key aspects.
The event volunteers, most of whom had been, working hard at the Summer Fete less than five months earlier, showed again what a wonderful team they are. A great deal of preparation work took place in the month leading to the Fayre. Parishioners and those from further afield provided the organisers with an amazing amount of items with which to fill the stalls. On the afternoon and evening before the Fayre, the stall holders and their helpers transformed both the Church Hall and the Portland Centre into a truly Festive Fayre.
Having the use of both halls with two venues to have a break for refreshments proved a success. In the Portland Centre the cake stall, as always, attracted a lot of interest, as did the very successful book and gift stall. The children’s area was well used with games, competitions and items of clothing and equipment for sale. These were on the Green in the summer and were not adequately staffed so when it rained, the stalls were isolated. At the Fayre and now located indoors, things were much improved. It was felt that it was very important to have plenty for the youngsters to do and it is hoped that we can build on this success in the future.
The stalls in the Church Hall were busy from beginning to end. We had a very full raffle which benefited from many generous donors, including local businesses and the tickets sold well, as did the calendars, notelets and cards. The accessories stall was new this time and was very busy. Other stalls were all successful: bric-à-brac, fresh produce, nearly new, crafts, hand-made, craft kits, tombola, Traidcraft and competitions (eg name the doll and guess the weight of the cake).
The outcome was a highly respectable total of £3,200. The helpers and donors are too many to name and thank, but suffice it to say the additional publicity went well and the public all seemed to enjoy the day as much as we enjoyed arranging it.










