Fayre Well!
The day came upon us after much preparation and trepidation, and worrying ‘what if it rained….. heavily? No one turns up, the field is muddy’? Will we have enough cake?
Well, we needn’t have worried. All our prayers were answered. After a little obligatory sprinkle of English rain, during the set-up, the weather set fair and the day was AMAZING!
Volunteers turned up in the early hours of a murky, grey Saturday morning and like clockwork, the vendors followed their instructions and set-up their stalls and got ready for the crowds. The dog ring and podium awaited the contestants.
The sound booth blasted out music tracks to suit all genres and the microphones tested. The Village Hall got ready to serve their first cuppa and homemade cakes – and the stalls inside were selling to each other and trying on clothes!
Our wonderful Hayley Lehmann, was in charge of traffic control at the front of Brickfield, co-ordinating the cars with Steve and Ollie at the Hadley FC to ensure everybody got parked. Our first members of the public arrived, ready for the day before 12.00pm. We had a steady stream of public from far and wide until it closed at 5.00pm.
We were told by the number of cars and footfall, we had approximately 1,200 people attend!
THE DOG SHOW
Here are some more pictures from the show taken by the fabulous Rachel of Wynn Photography.
The Dog Show hosted by Rachel of Beauty Barks of Borehamwood was a great attraction + 23 stall holders outside in the field – a mix of dog related stalls, jewellery, accessories, The National Foster Agency, hand crafted gifts, swimming lessons, wood turners, The Wildlife Trust, UW, homemade honey, tombola and charity related stalls. And of course, the most amazing Raffle with prizes donated by our fabulous locals.
On the top slope we had our food court with an amazing ice cream vendor, specialist burgers and fries, Chit Chaat Asian food, Deli Bagels and Salt Beef, West Indian barbi, Donna’s Cakes, not to mention a popular Pimms table for people to enjoy into the early afternoon.
To give the doggies a rest, we had 2 mini concerts from a wonderful singer, Katie Hanbaich, who was truly sensational. She offers singing camps/workshops for kids and lessons – and donated to the raffle. Very popular with the audience. As was the 9-piece, Ukulele band, fronted by Ralf Samel of the U3A who entertained the crowd with some golden oldies.
Other entertainment included 2 bouncy castles and a gladiator ring and hit the hammer game for children. Plus, an appearance of a Fire Engine and the Paw Patrol characters and our own Theresa Villiers MP came to say hello.
Special Thanks…
To SoundDivision for all their help and donating the sound equipment and microphones. And of course Steve Gray and his team from the Hadley Rangers FC and Village Hall.
Thanks to all the helpers, volunteers and members of the committee – especially Judith Heineman who made all the cakes that nearly sold out in the Village Hall and was a great contribution to the total.
Tying it all together was the unforgettable Rev Cindy! She opened the Fayre, made all the announcements and got everyone to buy the Raffle tickets. I even got to do an ABBA tribute! What an amazing lady. A real crowd pleaser. Thank you.
We’re still totalling the money we made for our charitable causes and hope to make a significant amount which, on top of a great community spirit and event, made it all worthwhile. Suffice to say, despite the sore feet, we would love to do it again (one day) see you at the next one!
