Street fair

Sun 24 Sep 2023, 21:47

One non-trade stall was The Charlbury Community Centre stall - we had two very interactive activities, Jason’s rowing challenge and the hula hoop challenge, open to all. These were free and we had many game challengers take part, and (most!) enjoyed themselves, with some entering several times. We do have winners, apologies for the delay in announcing and awarding the prizes - we have had a busy week! We’ll notify the winners of a month’s gym membership and a hula hoop + cafe voucher as soon as we can. Thanks to all who took part, you were all amazing!

Sat 23 Sep 2023, 10:55

Still hoping someone has photos of the children's parade with the bee masks.... Sustainable Charlbury paid for the community artist who worked with the children at the school to create their bee costumes.  And at the vital moment I wasn't there to take pictures.

Fri 22 Sep 2023, 21:58

And Lesley W, who came in at the last minute with a lovely date and ginger cake - sorry Anna- she wasn’t on the list! Thanks everyone - you did a great job. Hopefully soon we’ll find out how much we raised. 

Thu 21 Sep 2023, 18:05

Anna and Tanya want to say a massive thank you to all our Street Fair Cafe volunteers - both super servers and brilliant bakers. It's worth noting that the array of cakes this year was absolutely splendiferous! So appreciation goes to:

Marion & Andrew G; Carolyn A; Debbie L; John T; Deborah M; Kay C; Sue T; Sue H; Wendy B; Hilli W; Floss B; Ellen D; John M; Jean B; Eileen K; Deirdre L; Jeanne C; Judy K; Rosemary C; Jessie H; Ann L; Paul C; Jackie H; Caroline M; Pauline E for the yummy cheesecake!

If I've missed anyone, apologies and please let me know so we can make an extra special announcement! 

Wed 20 Sep 2023, 21:43

It was great. If you want the fire brigade to attend you can call 999. Not sure there is a number for an emergency pig roast.

Wed 20 Sep 2023, 21:30

I thought Street Fair was great. Thank you to committee and all who contributed. 

Wed 20 Sep 2023, 16:24

All very helpful comments here - thank you!

For the record, the Fire Service were invited but had to attend to an incident.

Tue 19 Sep 2023, 14:46

Perhaps the Street Fair  should be relaunched as the Charlbury Fair  and be on the playing field allowing the community to have stands, dog shows etc.?  One could even charge a modest admission?

Tue 19 Sep 2023, 08:10

Well said Karen, new ideas could include a dog show perhaps? engage a local trainer who I understand lives here?  and perhaps a vet,  and include education for owners. Only an idea. 

Tue 19 Sep 2023, 06:46 (last edited on Tue 19 Sep 2023, 06:47)

Alan, the Museum is part of the Corner House. Selling the building (which I know has been discussed) means also finding a new home for the Museum (which actually needs much more space).

The Museum was extremely well attended on Street Fair Day when I looked in, and seemed to be hugely appreciated by the many visitors. Thanks to all the volunteers there and the team of curators who make it such a success. 

Tue 19 Sep 2023, 03:53

It would get very stale if every year were exactly the same as the previous. ‘No Fire Engine’ seems an incredibly minor gripe. There’s probably lots more than could be done, but as has been mentioned, it’s all volunteer run so we have to be realistic about what is feasible.

As for the use of funds, while accessibility is of course an important consideration for somewhere like The Corner House, the cost of installation of a lift and renovation seems prohibitively excessive versus return on investment. Especially when the Memorial Hall is accessibility compliant. 

Wouldn’t those funds be better placed on finding a more suitable permanent solution, rather than retrofitting (and permanently changing) an old building that likely will never be fit for that purpose? Rather than trying to raise £200k to change a space into something it’s never going to be, has anybody considered selling the property and building an efficient functional space which addressee the many potential uses and needs? These things are often the most obvious but go unspoken because ‘that’s how it’s always been’. The building is probably worth £2m in today’s market, funds which could serve the people it exists to help far more impactfully.

Mon 18 Sep 2023, 23:27

Yes, the number of music venues, in the Bull, the Bell and the corner house garden organised by Dave Oates of the Vodka Shots  through-out the day  was fantastic and a credit to the many hours he spent negotiating with the performers and the various venue owners. We really appreciated the efforts of Dave , which allowed the rest if the committee to concentrate on the many other activities that lead up to the day, working with the school, dealing with road closures, programmes, stalls, the list is endless. Some of the street performers were so unexpected even the committee were surprised and were unsure what was happening.  Many thanks for the extra dimension these dynamic performances brought to the day. Let's hope the CSF can continue to evolve its style so the event stays relevant for future generations. Please do bring your ideas to our next committee meeting or pop an email to us. We would be grateful for the interest and help. The money raised helps to maintain the corner house with Charlbury' s cornerstone, and the memorial hall which provides a warm and cheap venue so many community events through the year. Also note the mandate for the corner house committee is to use funds raised to improve the accessibility of the corner house with a lift for more inclusive buildings and then focus on improvements to the building fabric to provide a more energy efficient building.This is not easy when the building is listed and the issues around renovation and upgrading can be tricky juggling act. 

Mon 18 Sep 2023, 17:15

First of all, of course thank you to all the hard work of the volunteers for everything they do to make street fair a success - I'm sure there is a huge amount of work behind the scenes that us punters don't see. Not everyone has time to volunteer - but people might have useful feedback to give all the same. Maybe when the dust has settled a quick online survey that you could share on here for any feedback and ideas would be a good idea? Even if the committee don't have the capacity to do them all it would be interesting to get ideas from people in the town about what they want from street fair and add them to a long term back list for future fairs. My tuppence would be that it doesn't need to be the same every single year to be a success - recent innovations like music in different locations has helped to make it better - let's have more new ideas and fresh ways of doing things if there is capacity, as that's what helps keep it interesting and fresh.

Mon 18 Sep 2023, 13:27

Above all, though, let's make the Fair better by having more volunteers. To join the committee, and to run more "interactive" stalls. I know (and I'm sure that they know) that there's a real need of both. John Dora or any of the team will be delighted to hear from you.

Mon 18 Sep 2023, 13:23

Of course everyone will, and freely should, have opinions. And there's always room for improvement  - my own stall could have been better in several ways. But at the end of hours (days & weeks) of hard work, for the first comment that committee members read to be one of such negativity is just crass and insensitive on the poster's part.

Let's have thanks, praise and appreciation, and then (after that) positive suggestions for improvement!

And if you do want to include negatively-phrased comments, at least make them accurate. All the stalls were not trade .. that's an insult to the many volunteer stall-holders who work so hard for nothing.

It's hardly psychological rocket-science to post on this site in a way that makes your readers feel good rather than bad!

Mon 18 Sep 2023, 11:16

I thought the Street Fair was good but there seemed to a lot less people than usual - I don't know if we know the exact number - and it felt more subdued than the year before. I also agree with Mandy that there was less interactive stalls and opportunities for engagement, which was a shame. 

This isn't a criticism of the organisers - I know how challenging it is to manage large events. I do wonder though if it is a reflection of the cost of living crisis as well as the way people interact - mostly digitally rather than in-person, and if events such as town and village street fairs/fetes, will need to change...

Everyone should be entitled to an opinion, even if it's criticsm. How can we do better if everyone says the same thing?

Mon 18 Sep 2023, 11:00

Oh dear seems that your not allowed an opinion on here. 
And I have helped with the street fair at times with putting it up to taking it down. 
with helping on stalls etc I know very well how hard it is to get people to help with events. I’ve spent many years on different committees and fundraising so yes I do know how hard it is. 

Sun 17 Sep 2023, 23:38

Having seen over forty street fairs I thought this one was great---well attended, lots of old friends and happy families and some new ideas. Some of the stalls were trade but not more than usual. Totally agree with huge thanks to John Dora and all the other volunteers. Perhaps a special mention for the teas---amazing cakes. 

Sun 17 Sep 2023, 13:25

Don’t forget as well as being fun, it is to maintain the Corner House and Memorial Hall for all. A wonderful event . Well done for all the organising. Thank you.

Sun 17 Sep 2023, 11:50

We really enjoyed the day, it was great to see so many young families and not so young enjoying themselves in the festive atmosphere.   Thank you all the organisers who put in such a lot of time and energy to bring it together.

Sun 17 Sep 2023, 11:32

Poor Mandy.

In my world everyone is entitled to their opinion.

Sun 17 Sep 2023, 09:31

Wonderful Street Fair  -  2023 version.  Thank you to all the organisers and stall keepers and entertainers for providing such an enjoyable Saturday afternoon/evening in our remarkable town.  What a great opportunity to run into old friends, meet new people, and learn about all the projects volunteers are taking on to make Charlbury an even better place to live.  Special thanks to John Dora for 8 years of leadership.  Well done all.  The smiling faces said it all.

Sun 17 Sep 2023, 09:19

I think we need a thumbs down icon here! Here’s one 👎 for Mandy.

Sun 17 Sep 2023, 08:01 (last edited on Sun 17 Sep 2023, 08:30)

Oh dear. Volunteers (not me) work their socks off, and this is the only response they get. I'm sorry you missed the fire engine so much - for my part I thought it was a great afternoon.

Perhaps if more people join the committee, which is in great need of more members, the Fair will be (even) better next year.

Sat 16 Sep 2023, 23:29

Very disappointed with the street fair this year 

No pig roast  no fire engine 

All the stores we’re trade. The cakes were lovely though that we had in the hall. 
sad to say times have changed and it’s not like it used to be.