- 2018 Fete Report and Result -
Published 4th September 2018
Despite a rather wet setup on the Sunday the weather held on Monday and we welcomed more visitors than ever before to our Village Fete and Dog Show.
We are delighted to report that the profit from this year’s Fete is circa. £19,000. A fantastic result!
We had a wide range of fairground rides and bouncy castles to choose from along with a giant foot-darts game and the ever-popular “have-a-go” archery. The new addition of Handball was very well received with visitors of all ages, from toddlers to grandmothers taking a shot and scoring. Thank you Stansted Supers Handball Club for setting that up.
Much Hadham Baby and Toddler Group and Youth Create put together an expanded “Kiddie Corner” and “Fun Zone” this year for our younger visitors which included a soft-play area, sand pit, face-painting and character “meet and greet” performances. We understand both had excellent feedback from users and it’s nice to see these local groups benefiting from the exposure the event gives them.
It was great to see that fete stalwarts target bowls, china smashing, coconut shy, roll-a-ball and tombola were all inundated with players, proving that our careful mix of modern and traditional content works very well. The China Smashing game was met with what appeared to be an increased level of enthusiasm this year, so much so we think it would be better described as “Anger Management Therapy” next year.
Always a favourite, the train ride entertained kids young and old with huge smiles as they were transported around the field by our vintage tractor pulling equally vintage trailers.
The white elephant, clothes and book stalls all did a roaring trade, as did the raffle, and of course there was live music from the Bocking Brass providing a nice musical note to the event.
Nearly 50 trade stalls offered a wide range of goods and services and we have received so many good comments from them as well as their customers about the range and quality on offer.
Once again The Dog Show, run by the Little Hadham MediVet team, was hugely successful. The show has become a firm fixture for many owners wishing to show their animals and we are so grateful to Joe Wyatt and his team for running such a popular, well respected and fun show. The separate Dog Agility Arena, run by Red Dog Training, was also very popular with visitors.
We had a wide range of food outlets this year with new entrants Van Pizza going down so well that they ran out of pizza dough and the superb BBQ, roast pork carvery, “Gin & Fizz” bar, paella stall and vegetarian/satay kitchen all served long queues of hungry yet happy people.
The bar this year was provided by The Prince of Wales Public House and we are grateful to our dedicated team of village volunteers who expertly ran the teas for us. Each served a huge number of guests.
The same traffic management and car parks plan was used this year and once again we parked nearly 1500 cars all without incident and without creating gridlock on the high street. Parking in the village streets was also significantly reduced with only one reported issue. Thank you to all the residents that helped us by moving their cars off the main roads for the duration of the event, it really does help us.
Of course, an event this size does not just happen. There is a huge amount of time and sheer hard work in putting it together and running it on the day. We would like to thank EVERYONE involved for all their efforts and fantastic spirit and goodwill. We had a marvellous team of volunteers and we could not do it without them.
A big thank you also to Dr. Roh, Maureen Renny, Kevin Gregory and David Bottrill for allowing us to use their land for access and car parking, which is so vital for the running of the Fete.
Finally, while we go to great lengths to ensure the extra traffic and number of visitors which the Fete generates has as little impact as possible on the village, there is inevitably some disruption on the day and we thank everyone for their understanding and cooperation.
It is always fantastic to welcome so many visitors to our village each year for what must be one of the friendliest and enjoyable events in the area. We look forward to welcoming everyone again next year.
- Grant Applications for 2018 Now Open -
Published 4th September 2018
Any organisation within the Parish wishing to apply for a grant should send in their applications to arrive by 24th October, so that the Trustees can allocate funds at their meeting in early November. Applications must be made on the Grant Applications Form only, available to download from the website. Full details can be found on the Grant Applications Page of this website or by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
- 2017 Fete Report and Result -
Published 18th September 2017
Our Village Fete was blessed with glorious sunshine again this year and we welcomed more visitors than ever before for a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon.
We are delighted to report that the profit from this year’s Fete is over £18,000. A fantastic result!
We had a wide range of fairground rides and bouncy castles to choose from, along with new attractions such as a 30ft climbing wall and giant foot-darts game. Much Hadham Toddler Group and Youth Create put together an expanded “Kiddies Corner” for the toddlers which included a soft-play area, ball pond, face-painting and character meet and greet performances. Fete stalwarts such as target bowls, china smashing, archery, train ride, coconut shy, roll-a-ball and tombola continue to be as popular as ever and were all inundated with players.
The white elephant, clothes and book stalls all did a roaring trade, as did the raffle which sold almost 6000 tickets for the fantastic prizes on offer. Thanks to everyone who bought tickets, your contribution really makes a difference. There was live music from the Bocking Brass Band plus over 40 trade stalls offering a wide range of goods and services.
We had a super range of food outlets this year with new entrants Waffleway going down well with the crowds as did the superb BBQ (run by the Perry Green & Green Tye Preservation Society), roast pork carvery, “Gin & Fizz” bar, paella stall and vegetarian/satay options. The inclusion of the new “slushies” outlet was particularly welcomed on such a hot day.
Our own bar enthusiastically run by MH Football Club along with the teas and cakes expertly run by village volunteers each served huge numbers of guests and made significant contributions to the result.
Once again The Dog Show, run by the Little Hadham MediVet team, was hugely successful. It has become a firm fixture for many owners wishing to show their animals and we are so grateful to Helen and her team for running such a popular, well respected, fun show.
This year we reduced the number of classes by one to prevent the judging time running over as it has done in previous years. This worked well although all classes were still oversubscribed, with entrants from far afield mixing happily with local dog owners. The separate Dog Agility Competition, run by Red Dog Training, was once again very popular with visitors.
Thanks to the additional car park at the Barn School and improved traffic management, we parked nearly 1500 cars all without incident and without creating the usual gridlock on the high street. Parking in the village streets was also significantly reduced with no reported issues. Thank you to all the residents that helped us by moving their cars off the main roads for the duration of the event.
Of course, an event this size does not just happen. There is a huge amount of time and sheer hard work in putting it together and running it on the day. We would like to thank EVERYONE involved for all their efforts and fantastic spirit and goodwill. We had a marvellous team of volunteers (although we could always do with more) and we could not do it without you!
A big thank you also to Dr. Roh, Maureen Renny, Kevin Gregory and David Bottrill for allowing us to use their land for access and car parking, which is so vital for the running of the Fete.
Finally, while we go to great lengths to ensure the extra traffic and number of visitors which the Fete generates has as little impact as possible on the village, there is inevitably some disruption on the day and we thank everyone for their understanding and cooperation.
- 2017 Grants Awarded -
Published 22nd November 2017
The Trustees met in November to consider grant applications for 2017/18. It was agreed that £500 would be set aside for investment to refurbish and renew signage and equipment for next year’s Fete. However, following the success of this year’s Fete and many private donations, we were able to make grants totalling almost £19,000. Full details can be found on the Grant Awards Page of this website or by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
On behalf of the community organisations, for many of whom these grants are important for their continued success, we would like to thank all those who contributed so much to the Fete this year and to those who made very generous donations, which enabled these grants to be made.
- Grant Applications for 2017 Now Open -
Published 18th September 2017
Any organisation within the Parish wishing to apply for a grant should send in their applications to arrive by 23 October, so that the Trustees can allocate funds at their meeting in early November. Applications must be made on the Grant Applications Form only, available to download from the website. Full details can be found on the Grant Applications Page of this website or by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.