Well, another village fete has taken place – thanks to so many of you turning up to volunteer, run a stall or just to come along and enjoy the day with your family and friends. It felt like our busiest one yet.
Its success is as much to do with its glorious location as anything. Many of the visitors commented on how special the location is in contributing to a great sense of community. So, thank you to the residents of Church End and Flint Street for your understanding and patience with the obvious inconveniences that you incur on the day.
The weather was perfect – not too hot, not too windy and, most importantly, dry! The Fete was opened by a local Haddenham resident Benjamin Chivers who, at the tender age of 12, is currently enjoying astonishing success as an up-and-coming actor and is proving to be much in demand both here and in America.
The fly-past of the WWII Lancaster Bomber was, well, awesome – for 2 minutes time stood still. Music by Déjà Vu kept us in the swing while the Towersey Morris Dancers and the swing Boat and chair-o-plane fairground rides gave us a window onto traditional entertainments. The Open Gardens around the Green are another bonus of this intimate location. Our Charity and Business Stall Holders were, as ever, ingenious and entertaining in their money raising enterprises for their individual causes. The ladies of the Four Churches Together, the Beer and Pimms Tents, the Street Food Stalls kept us all fed and watered for which we are always very grateful – it's a tough job. Helpers on the day are too many to mention in detail but you know who you are and we couldn't do it without your help.
This year Fete income from the usual Committee Stalls of Tea and Cakes, Bottle Tombola and Slosh was enhanced by the addition of 3 new fun attractions: Bowling for a Pig (or in this case a £25 Ham joint), Splat the Rat and the Slow Bicycle Race. We also ran a Tuck Shop and, in place of the past Lucky Programme Prize Draw, the Committee introduced a Raffle Stall and distributed the Fete Programme Booklet to visitors without charge. This proved very popular with fete goers.
The income to Haddenham Fete each year is somewhere in the region of £4000 – £6000 from the support of village businesses, by Financial Sponsorship or the purchase of advertising in the Fete Programme and donation of prizes to the raffle prize draw, income from the Stall Holder Pitch Fees and takings on the day from the Committee Stalls. This year special thanks are due to our two Principal Sponsors, Redrow and Haddenham Park Residential Home. Also, our Business Supporters DAF, Lancasters Accountants, Decorare, Haddenham Dental Services, Studiosvn.
We will share the final totals for this year's fete once all income has been received. All the money raised is distributed over the next months to Haddenham-based initiatives in need of financial support. If you know of an organisation in need of some financial support please get in touch: haddenhamfete@gmail.com
As you may imagine, an event like this takes a lot of work behind the scenes – and with some long-standing members of the committee looking to step down next year, could you lend your skills and join the committee to make sure this much-loved event continues in 2026? Please get in touch if you're interested.
Lots more Photographs
There are lots more photographs to enjoy on the Haddenham Flickr page.
As always, the editor sought permission from parents and guardians when taking photos of youngsters, but if the image of any child needs taking down from the portfolio, please email: haddenham.net@hotmail.com
Haddenam Village Fete Committee
Julia Woodcock, Cathie Deeley, Annie Cheeseman, Kevin Cheeseman, Caroline Davies, Pauline Dichler, Jason Hewitt, Keith Milmer, Roger Rickard
