Christmas Fayre on hold to help in fight against COVID-19
It is with regret that this year’s Bury St Edmunds Christmas Fayre has been cancelled to help public services concentrate on tackling COVID-19 and support businesses across West Suffolk.
The decision also follows clear instructions from the Government not to tie up public and emergency services in events so they can concentrate on prioritising COVID-19 actions.
More than 130,000 are attracted to the Christmas Fayre and the planning work which needs to be carried out now requires a tremendous amount of input from public services.
The move to cancel this year’s event frees up officer time and Council resources to support businesses now and, importantly their recovery in the future.
This means the Council can introduce tailored help across the whole of West Suffolk for businesses and our High Streets at Christmas to celebrate the festive time and respond to any restrictions still in place.
Equally it is unclear whether later in the year the event would be able to be held anyway. As many things have to be booked now it could prove be a waste of money which is better spent on businesses and communities now.
The suspension is only for this year.
Cllr John Griffiths, Leader of West Suffolk Council, said: “We know how popular the fayre is and it is with a heavy heart we have taken this decision. But in the circumstances, and when you see events like the Olympics being postponed, it is the right one. Planning for the Christmas Fayre is a massive task and much has to be planned or booked now. Postponing it this year means we and our emergency service partners can continue to concentrate on helping our businesses and communities through this difficult time. It also means that we can free up resources to not only help residents and businesses across West Suffolk who are facing hardships now but also in their economic recovery down the road. We understand many may be disappointed, but this really is the sensible way forward to ensure we focus on helping our businesses and emergency services to weather the current challenges brought by the pandemic. It will also hopefully put us all in a better position, come Christmas, to celebrate and help businesses in Bury St Edmunds and throughout West Suffolk make the most of the festive season.”
We’re pleased to announce Bury St Edmunds Christmas Fayre has won the award for Best Large Speciality Market awarded by NABMA. Thank you to all our staff, partners, stallholders and visitors who have made this possible.
The dates for 2020 are:
Thursday 26th November until Sunday 29th November
We will be open:
Thursday 12 noon – 8pm
Friday & Saturday: 9am – 8pm
Sunday: 10am – 5pm
The award winning Bury St Edmunds Christmas Fayre is now in its nineteenth year and gets bigger and better everytime. With over 300 stalls situated all around the historic Georgian town centre it has the perfect mix of old and new.
Our Fayre has something for everyone and includes children’s opening parade and fireworks, cookery theatre and food area in the Cathedral grounds, free children’s activities and fun fair on Angel Hill and in the Abbey Gardens and much much more.
Christmas is a magical time for children so if you have little ones please see here for our tips and info on bringing the children to the Fayre.
If you are travelling with children this year, click here to view our top tips!
FARMERS MARKET
As part of our award winning Christmas Fayre and new for 2019 we are opening the Butter market area on our opening day. This will be a mix of regular market traders along with a selection of locally produced food and drink stalls. There will also be a ‘makers market’ which will consist of local crafts people and include demonstrations. In addition to this we are looking for traders for our Farmers and Cookware Market on 21st and 24th November.
Coach Bookings
The expression of interest and coach information will be available towards the end of March.
To help make your visit as smooth as possible, we have compiled a list of frequently asked questions, please click here.
