Thinking Caps on please...Village Fete ideas....

[pillj123]

OK...you marvelous thinkers...over to you.
I live in a small Norfolk village.It has a primary school,a few things like a good local shop with P.O, a chippy, hairdressers,Pub.We have had village fetes over the years,but the gent who ran it...fairly single-handed had a heart attack and wants fresh blood to take it over.
My friend and I want to have a bash.(noone else seems bothered)..BUT...want to bring fresh ideas...or old fashioned ideas which are proven winners.
Care to add your suggestions.What makes for a fabulous village Fete?????

[DTCwordfan]

pig derby..... dunk the vicar/school teachers......good old fashioned tug of war........

[naomi24]

In this Diamond Jubilee year we have a Royal Fancy Dress competition, so expect to see not only Old King Coles, Queens of Hearts, Princesses and their frog princes, but queen bees, corgis, and lion kings. The potential is endless.

[DTCwordfan]

local crafts, corn dollies, what can you do to encourage local Norfolk dishes, perhaps the record thing too.

Our Church also put a brilliant flower and arts fest on to complement the fete,inviting nearby churches to "compete"

[DTCwordfan]

by the way - Norrfolk verse.....

We set orf wun mornin'abowt nine
My missus,meself,an' that dawter o'mine
They sed thet wood only taeke an hour or tew Jest got a few bits o'shoppin'tew dew.
In an' owt thuh shops we go
Sumthin'loike a bloomin' yoo yoo
Try anuther shop in thuh next street
Neither on'em care abowt my aching feet.
"I thowt we wus goin'home on thuh dinner-time bus"
"Oh cum along father,do'ant maeke such a fuss We'll git a bit o'dinna in a minit or tew
After thet I've only a few things tew dew"
We got thuh bus at a quarter-arter-four
Roight glad I was tew be outa that din,
They say they're cummin up wunce more
No bor,Oi sharn't be cummin agin

[jamesnan]

When the local school held a fete one of the attractions was a "Pan for Gold" stall, a company supplied all the necessary "stuff" for a fee, and the children loved it.
Another stall sold cakes (all donated ) and they were placed on paper plates which had been decorated by the school children, with their names on the edge - something the mum would buy!
Filled jars (eg.sweets, little toys ) were on a table with raffle tickets, and certain numbers won. Of course, guess the number of sweets in a large jar - always a favourite.

[weecalf]

Pray for rain .....somebody elses problem next year ..

[Caran]

Human fruit machine. Great fun, just google it.

[tinkerbell23]

When is it? An easter egg hunt!? If its after easter a treasure hunt x

[mumsie_wumsie]

Wow, there are some brilliant ideas here. I can't think of any better than already suggested. If you manage to combine some of these ideas you will have a fantastic village fete. Good luck, I wish I lived near,I would most certainly come. I hope you get lots of help..:-)

[pillj123]

WOW!!!!!!...this has really been fruitful...just think how long my friend and me would have taken to find all these fabulous suggestions.Yet again I am so chuffed that AB-ers really do give of their life experience,and share ,share,share.AND
I have now found a fellow Norfolk resident...Maidup....so to answer you...I live in Hopton..between Diss and Thetford.I have not been here more than 5 years..and havnt bumped into anyone famous yet...but loving the idea.Who do you know of.?Do let me know how far into the sticks you live!If its by the coast..I am jealous.
Just to clarify...we would take over from NEXT year..as this year has a special committee creating a Jubilee weekend,not a fete.
THANKS......everyone,again...this has made my Friday morning ! xx

[naomi24]

Another couple of things. We have a bottle Tombola stall. We ask people in the village to donate bottles of alcohol and we sell tickets for £1. Similarly, we ask the village and local companies to donate prizes for a raffle stall. Both the raffle and the tombola make quite a lot of money. If you have a Parish magazine where you live, use it regularly to let the village know what's going on and to advertise for what you want, especially for the help you’ll definitely need – not least in manning the stalls.
By the way, if you’re having a bar, you will need to get a licence to sell alcohol.

If I can help at all, I’m a regular in the Religion & Spirituality section of AB - a sub-section of Society & Culture - so a message posted there will reach me.

Best of luck. :o)

[Eve]

Sounds like it'll be great :) The police car is a good idea, maybe see if the fire service will come too so kids (and big kids) can have a look around and put the lights on and such - sure the ladies will appreciate it too :)

They did a local police display in town recently and it seemed really popular with kids, they had people letting them put their fingerprints on a card and such - I had a go too (33 going on 3 :)).

[rowanwitch]

Don't forget bad weather insurance...

[Baldric]

Dwarf throwing, always a winner
;o)

[tonyav]

Yard of ale drinking is usually good for a laugh.

[rowanwitch]

or make dummies with masks of famous people hang them up and let people bash them like pinatas

[Maydup]

I'm over on the Norfolk Broads, so not far from the sea pillj123!
Jut ideas but Bill Bryson live in Norfolk at Wramplingham. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Bryson

Plus I found these snippets....Now you just need a committee member who can track them down!

//"Rick Wakeman backs festival
The four churches festival will be returning to the Waveney Valley in May with rock legend Rick Wakeman once again at the helm.

The world-renowned keyboard player, and star of television series Grumpy Old Men, lives in the Diss area where the festival is based"//

//"Immortalised as Trigger in ‘Only Fools and Horses’ and as Dr Who‘s sinister Cyberman creator John Lumic, the talented and versatile actor will attend the screening of ‘Tinker Tailor, Soldier, Spy’ at Garboldisham Village Hall on March 14. Mr Lloyd-Pack appeared as Inspector Mendel in the film and will take questions from the audience after it has been shown."//