Sadness and disappointment over country fair end

24 minutes ago

Galya DimitrovaSouth of England

News image — Sherborne Castle Country Fair, pictured here in 2023, had been run by volunteers raising money for local charities since 1996

BBC A woman on a cart pulled by a horse at the Sherborne Castle Country Fair. Crowds are cheering behind fences and the castle is seen in the distance. It is a sunny day. — Sherborne Castle Country Fair, pictured here in 2023, had been run by volunteers raising money for local charities since 1996

A traditional country fair will not be returning due to declining attendance.

Sherborne Castle Country Fair directors said on 17 June that planning for the next year's event "was being paused" while the committee considered the financial implications of the continued decline.

But despite reviewing "a variety of proposals and alternative options", a statement was on the event website and Facebook page on Thursday announced it had been "reluctantly and unanimously concluded that it would not be financially viable for the fair to continue".

Former chairman Nigel Chambers said the decisions had not been easy and that they were "hugely grateful" to their supporters over the years.

A rare breed goat pictured at the fair in 2023. There is a red bucket near it in its enclosure. — A large standalone rare breed show was also part of the fair's appeal

The fair offered "a fun and varied programme of events, rural activities, stands and entertainment", including a large standalone rare breed show.

Chambers said they used to get between 12,000 to 15,000 visitors before Covid but after that they had been "dropping by a couple of thousand" each year.

"We reduced ticket costs, allowed children in accompanied by adults for nothing, we also enhanced some of the attractions - even then the results were another 2,000 visitors less than last year."

The latest fair was held on 25 May Bank Holiday Monday and Chambers said they were all "sad and disappointed to see it go".

"The event this year was actually most successful - everyone had really great time, the weather was very hot but it was dry, everything went like clockwork.

"But we just didn't get the number of visitors that we would need to give ourselves assurance that it could be viable for the longer term."

Crowds of people eating on picnic tables and enjoying the Sherborne Castle Country Fair in the sun. There are some dogs as well. There is a Ferris Wheel in the distance and a white ice cream van nearby. — Chambers said visitor numbers had been "dropping by a couple of thousand" each year since Covid

Since 1996, it had been run by volunteers raising money for local charities, and organisers said payments had already been made to this year's beneficiaries.

They said that to date, the total amount disbursed to charities supporting local children was "nearly £1.4m".

"It's a very significant amount of money," Chambers said.

He said he wanted to "be fairly upbeat" that the event had come "to a natural conclusion".

"We've had 30 years of very successful events, and it's time either for something different to step up and take its place," he said.

"If others want to come in and try and take on a similar fare, then we're very happy to share all the information that we have."