Here’s the answers to some of the questions people ask:

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Q. Why is it called the Duck Fayre?
 

The 44th Brighton Scouts based in Patcham first started the Duck Fayre in the 1980’s and we understand the Scout leader chose the name somewhat randomly. There are stories of ducks from the All Saints Church pond (which is no longer there) waddling down from Church Hill to the village and there is also evidence of a pond in the village, so it is likely ducks were around in Patcham years ago! Apparently, there are ‘Goose’ fairs in Nottingham, and Devon so maybe the idea of a ‘Duck Fayre’ was a fun take on an old name? We love it because it’s a great name for a great day out. 

 

In the late 1990’s the Scouts decided they could not run the Fayre any more and it wasn’t until 2018 when a group of residents chatted on Facebook about the great memories we had of the day, that the idea was mooted to revive it again. The Scouts gave us permission to use the name and our first ‘revived’ Fayre ran in 2019. 

 

Q. If it was once in the village, why is it now on the Patcham School playing fields?

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When the Patcham Duck Fayre Revival Group brought back the fayre in 2018/9, we did indeed hold our first fayre it in the village, as before. But times have changed. In order to do this, we needed the signatures of 80% of the residents who lived along the Old London Road, to agree to closing the road for a day, and with 96 residential units along the road this took a lot of time and energy to obtain. Then we had to apply for a road closure, plus employ a traffic management team to set up barriers and have the bus company’s permission to divert buses for the day. We also needed to clear the road of all parked cars on the day of the fayre to make room for the stalls and of course advise all residents of adjoining streets that they would not have access to leave or return to their houses by car during the day.  

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These requirements have come in since the Scouts ran the fair and, not surprisingly, it cost a considerable amount of money just to ensure the safety of all who came along. 

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Having looked around for an alternative venue, which was still in the heart of Patcham, the High School and Junior School fields seemed an obvious choice. The field is big enough to accommodate all the activities; it is surrounded by a fence which prevents stray dogs and children wandering into the road and it embraces the School’s philosophy of being part of the community. 

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Q. Are you a charity and where does the money go?

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The Patcham Duck Fayre Revival Group is completely made up of local volunteers and we started with no money at all. Our aim is to provide a fun and enjoyable day out for everyone, which is free at the point of entry and provides a forum for local charities and traders to advertise their wares and causes. 

We raise money through sponsorship, running our own tombola stall, and charging traders for their stalls. This normally covers our costs, but we also use the money raised from each fayre to fund the next one – the following year. 

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We are not a charity as we do not qualify under the Charity Commission rules, but we are best described as an unincorporated organisation. We are a properly constituted group, with transparent accounting; annual general meetings (to which all are invited) and we have annual reports and feedback from all our events. We are required to complete a risk assessment and an events management plan plus be responsible for safeguarding and the many general health and safety rules. 

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Each year the prices for the things we need to run the fayre go up. We started with a pot of £4,000 in 2019 but this year (2024) we need £11,000 just to run the same activities. We need to hire two large marquees for the tea tent and children’s activities and a covered stage, plus barriers, extra refuse and recycling bins, portaloos, tables and chairs and pay for advertising, banners, programmes and posters. We also have to purchase a substantial public liability insurance and we require all our stallholder to have their own insurance and the relevant food certificates and licences. 

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Of course we try to source things at the best possible price, and we are grateful for firms like Lord of the Bins who do all our litter picking and refuse collection for free. We also apply for grants, but this year the Council have stopped grant funding and many organisations do not give to events that are not of a charitable status or run ‘just for fun’!

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Some people ask why we don’t charge for entry; firstly, because we want everyone to be able to attend regardless of income, but also, can you imagine trying to collect a fee from every one of the 5,000+ people who come in through the top gate at Ladies Mile and the bottom gate in Warmdean road all day long?  We’d need an army of volunteers to do just that!

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What we do ask for is donations, and we have people walking round the Fayre with our blue and orange buckets, plus more collection points by our tombola and HQ stand. We are extremely grateful for our ‘regulars’ who sponsor us, but when we put an appeal this year for more sponsorship, sadly, no-one came forward. 

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Q. So who benefits from the Fayre? 

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Each year we have over 30 charities who have stalls at the Fayre. The fees for stallholders vary and we charge a minimum amount for those wanting to raise money for a good cause.  We estimate (from feedback) that this has raised over £35,000 for local charities since we revived the Fayre. 

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We should also add that the benefits are more about bringing a community together to celebrate all that is good locally. It is said an event like ours enhances people’s mental wellbeing, allows people of all backgrounds and generations to mix together in a joyful environment and it creates a sense of identity for Patcham. We see families and friends meeting up on the field, chatting, sharing picnics and joining in the circus skills; children’s activities and of course watching the ever popular dog show. Our hope is that it inspires the children and young people of today to remember the good times and maybe carry on the tradition of delivering a good old fashioned fayre. The feedback we receive is overwhelmingly positive. 

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What about 2025?

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We may well have a big problem putting on the Fayre next year in 2025. It’s not for the want of enthusiasm and know-how, but the lack of sponsorship and indeed volunteers on the day will make it very hard to deliver the Fayre again.

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We usually use the surplus we raise from one year to the next to kick start the planning, but we will barely cover our costs this year due to rising prices. We really do need local businesses and traders to come forward to sponsor the event: the reward is advertising in our brochure, shout outs on the day; plus, the opportunity to raise your profile and be connected with something everybody loves. 

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We have cut our cloth accordingly, (this year for example, you will notice we cannot deliver a programme to every household in Patcham but have gone via the Post magazine) and we are re-using banners and posters to save money. However, if prices for hiring essential equipment continue to rise, we will be out of pocket.

Whilst we have a strong committee, with 12 members, we cannot do everything on the day; erecting gazebos; moving tables and chairs across the field, putting up banners and bunting; allocating pitches, directing traffic, etc. If, by reading this you think you can volunteer, even for an hour or so, please get in touch. If you don’t want to do heavy lifting, we have tasks on the HQ stall and in the community centre which involve sitting down (!). If you think you have skills to offer in organising, finding sponsorship or raising money, don’t be shy, please come and talk to us. You will find us at the HQ tent on the day of the fayre or follow the links below. 

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Thank you for reading this – we hope it gives you a better understanding of the Fayre – and come and say hello this year – on Sunday 25th August 2024 on the School playing fields between 11.am – 4.30pm 

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Sally Booth, Jenny Robinson, Claire Montgomery  and the Patcham Duck Fayre Revival Group.

Follow us on Facebook:www,facebook.com/patchamduckfayre/

Email us at: info@patchamduckfayre.org.uk

Website: https//www.patchamduckfayre.co.uk