Alan Langley has just published a new article that illustrates the history of the East Farndon Fete and Flower Festival.
The details have been researched by reading and photgraphing the Fete Committee hand written minutes from 1975 to 2017. Copies of the minutes are now held in the East Farndon Village Archive. If you are undertaking your own research, by special request, we can give you access to these details. To request access, please email Mervyn Curtis.
See below a brief extract from Alan’s interesting article and a link to read the full version.
The village fete in East Farndon has been celebrated for many decades, perhaps even centuries. It used to be known as ‘Farndon Feast’ and the local paper records the event as far back as Victorian times. In more recent times it has always been referred to as the Fete and normally takes place on a Saturday, within a few days of 24th June, St. John the Baptist’s day, the church being dedicated to St John.
The minutes (which start in 1975, but with a gap during 1977) show that numerous people gave immense amounts of time and effort to plan and set up a successful event. Possible bad weather had to be anticipated, with stalls moving under cover, perhaps into the church. Marquees needed to be borrowed or bought, volunteers rounded up to man the stalls and games and possible extra attractions, such as a visiting band or a dog show, had to be booked and organised.