Saturday 8 June marked a highlight in the Bideford events calendar. Bideford Fair, put on by Bideford Town Council, is a premier local event and brings our community out and together for an excellent fun packed day. The weather was glorious and there was something for everyone.

Local community events are so important in maintaining activity, connectivity and enjoyment for people locally. Given that we are classed as a deprived area, anything that brings people, particularly families, out must be encouraged and supported. A real magnet for this event and others in the town is that admission is free and so inclusive for all.

The thriving Arts, Culture and Heritage group represents a wide range of heritage charities, artists and independent performers who, with funding from the Regeneration Board and Bideford Bridge Trust, provided an amazing range of activities on the day. It was the first public event for the group and aimed to showcase, in an engaging way, how important Arts, Culture and Heritage are to the wellbeing of our community.

The group area was constantly busy with a range of activities, including Podcasting, ropemaking, morse code, hula hoop lessons, boatmaking, 5-a-side chess, spectacular aerial performances, virtual reality, camera obscura, and steam engine rides. Two very enterprising, beautifully dressed group members made paper tall ships and then went on an improvised adventure with them – out into the sea of grass and around the island of bins! You could call it improvised storytelling with paper boats, or simply improvised puppetry…?

The formality of the opening with the Mayoral procession and the band added so much to the day being special and uniquely local. Welly throwing was very popular with wellies flying everywhere and the dance group provided an exquisite performance. The dog show, of course was very amusing with prizes for a range of activities including the dog that most looked like its owner. Or was it the other way around!

After the great success at Bideford Fair, it is sad to hear that this year was probably the last for the hugely popular Bideford Bike Show. In addition to becoming a local must-see attraction, their aim is to raise funds for local charities. However, there are plenty more events planned to keep our town pulsating with locals and visitors throughout the summer. 

For further information, go to the Regeneration Board site: discoverbideford.co.uk

JP