Burgess Hill summer fayre held at St John's Park

Burgess Hill Marching Youth led the procession, with five local schools; Manorfield, London Meed, Southway, Sheddingdean and Birchwood Grove, following behind with their handmade flower lanterns. Local youth club, Burgess Hill Youth also created their own flower lanterns to hold in the parade. The children were joined by other community groups including the Girl Guides and Swift Supporters, as well as local clubs, Walkhouse School of Dance and the Sussex Supremes Baton Twirlers.

The groups walked a circle of the park, with the Marching Youth playing a mix of popular tunes!

The local schools had made their lanterns in advance of the event, following a workshop with local community arts charity Same Sky. The lanterns and the workshop were funded by Burgess Hill Town Council.

Once the parade had finished, crowds descended upon the event, with lots of exciting activities for children to enjoy! There were over forty stall holders at the event, each from a local community group or business. Families could play games, or search for treats to buy on the day. With fairground games, a miniature railway and a free inflatable assault course there was something for everyone to enjoy. Local groups could also show off their talents in the arena with performances from local dance schools, singing groups and even a gymnastics performance!

The heat of the day meant that the Dog Show was sadly cancelled, but sponsors Heath Vets were not going to let that get in the way of a good day! Setting up a dog cooling area, people could bring their pups to have a nice cool down in the paddling pool, or grab a drink of water.

Donations were collected for Burgess Hill Food Bank and Burgess Hill Pantry with attendees dropping their items off in the Cricket Pavilion. A huge thank you to all those who brought donations to the event, they will go a long way to helping those in need in our community.

Town Mayor Janice Henwood said: “The Summer Fayre was a really good event especially seeing so many of our community groups in attendance. It was very enjoyable to participate with the young people and the Marching Youth in the children’s parade, walking as part of the Swift Supporters group.”

Thanks also goes to the Burgess Hill District Lions for their kind contribution to the cost of the event. Burgess Hill District Lions President, Alan Ranger, said: “The members of Burgess Hill District Lions Club were delighted to provide £1,500 to sponsor this year's Summer Fayre. Thankfully the weather was fine and hundreds of people flocked to St. John's Park to enjoy a fun day. Our own stall offered two free games, a bean bag game and the ever popular, Viking Chess. Both games gave children a good chance of beating their parents - and many did. A special Viking Chess challenge resulted in the Escape Youth Club being narrowly beaten by a team of spectators - a great end to the day. Sponsorship of events such as this is dependent on us raising money throughout the year, mostly from sales in our second-hand book shop in Burgess Hill. We are always keen to hear from anyone that would like to join our Club and help us continue to grow, so please look at our website - www.bhdlions.co.uk, to find out how you can help.”

The Town Council extend their thanks to all the groups who attended the Summer Fayre, for all their hard work on the day. If you would like to hear more about our events, please sign up to our events mailing list via our website.