| Where: | Reach, Cambridgeshire on Fair Green |
| When: | May Day Bank Holiday Monday |
| Time: | 12 noon until 5pm |
The opening of the annual fair at Reach in Cambridgeshire is a frantic free-for-all as festive fair-goers elbow, grovel and scramble to collect the huge shower of coins which rain down on them courtesy of the Mayor and his attendants assembled on the bank above the crowd. A bell is rung, the fair proclamation read out and the dignitaries hurl handfuls of coinage. The civic party will be in their full regalia with posies of flowers presented on the day, and the fair always begins with this tradition, followed by a plethora of entertainments including crafts, music, sports, maypole and Morris dancing, plentiful quantities of food and drink and a large funfair with a wide variety of rides and stalls. It’s an ancient charter fair doing back to the early years of the thirteenth century and the reign of King John, and now takes place usually on the May Day Bank Holiday (having been moved from its original Rogation Monday date).
Helpful Hints
In 2024 it should be on Monday 6th May.
Entry to the Fair is free with a charge for parking, £7 per car. If arriving by car, allow at least 15 minutes extra travelling time for the diversions and the best-organised event parking you’re ever likely to encounter- just follow the stewards.
The event website has up-to-date details of parking, road closures and a host of other useful stuff. Look out for the plaque about the Fair on the farmhouse above the Green.
Click here for the event website: http://www.reachfair.org.uk
and here for the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/reachfair/
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