Fayre dos – it was fun!
THE STREETS of Wokingham were paved with fun on Monday as the annual May Fayre took over the town centre.
Organised by the
Wokingham Lions, the everpopular event saw thousands of people descend on Broad Street and Market Place to enjoy a day of fun and revelry.
There were a wide range of charity, community and commercial stalls for visitors to browse, including a sweetie stall organised by the 1st Wokingham (St Paul’s) Scouts, raffles and tombolas.
The Wokingham Paper had a stall packed with goody bags – and they were such a hit that they all went by lunchtime.
Street entertainment came from Circus Scene’s jugglers and acrobats, there was morris dancing displays and Punch and Judy shows to enjoy.
Throughout the day there was musical entertainment on a stage specially erected in Market Place. Acts included the Crowthorne Musical Players, Rock Choir, Pauly Zarb and Steppin Out Stars of Tomorrow.
The event was opened by Wokingham town mini-mayor Amber Murray, aided by town mayor Cllr Julian McGheeSumner and Wokingham Lions president Debbie Slay.
“We put on this event every year,” Mrs Slay said. “Welcome to the 25th anniversary
May Fayre. I want to thank Wokingham town and borough councils – without their support this event couldn’t go ahead.”
She also thanked “the wonderful people of Wokingham who support this event every year.
“The Wokingham Lions work very hard over several months to put this event on, to ensure that everything is in place to have a great day out.”
And Cllr McGhee-Sumner had a special plea to residents as part of his opening remarks: “Put your hands in your pockets – it all goes to a good cause”.
Speaking after the event, Wokingham Lions May Fayre organiser Andy Slay said: "The Fayre was very well attended and hopefully it has also raised a lot of money for charity.
"Last year we raised £14,000 and we hope this year it will be similar.
“In addition, I spoke to a number of stall holders and got some great feedback. We might see another £20,000 coming from then.
"We won't know the full amounts for a while yet as it takes time for it all to come in and be counted.”