Simonside Country Fair

This is the web-site for the Simonside Country Fair, which takes place on the second Sunday in August every year, and for our unique Hay Show, which takes place in February every year. So this year the Simonside Country Fair was held on :
Sunday 8th August 2010.

Have a look through our web-pages to find out happened this August, it's easy to navigate around by clicking on the page headings above, and enjoy the photos of our activities and visitors in this and in previous years.

Stop-press ! The Fair committee met in September 2010 and decided how to distribute profits of just under £5000 from the Fair and the Hay Show combined proceeds. This year we are managing to support a record number of groups and organisations working locally, regionally - and occasionally further afield. Please follow the link above to our 2010 Beneficiaries page for a full list.

Report on 8th August 2010: Simonside Country Fair enjoyed record numbers of visitors this year and the weather held fair for all of the Sunday. Early clouds gave way to sunshine – ideal for the crowds who rolled up to our lovely countryside setting, at Forestburngate near Rothbury. All in all everyone enjoyed a super afternoon with a packed agenda across several rings and all kinds of edible and artistic delights on offer from fancy cupcakes to face-painting.

The weather provided ideal flying conditions for Mark French’s “Falconry Days” team, and this year all the feathered members of the team behaved themselves impeccably and delighted the audience with their exciting aeriel display, diving in and out of the ring to order and on time! Mark tells us that he is now in great demand for weddings, providing falcons to swoop through the church door and down the aisle at that crucial moment, delivering the wedding ring to the waiting parties. Sounds exciting stuff!

New visitors to the Fair from Blyth, the Donna Kimberley School of Highland Dancing, proved a very popular hit. The troupe of young dancers, beautifully costumed, gave two very fleet-footed performances and showed real expertise with some of the trickier Highland steps and a display of swords. We'll certainly hope to welcome them back next year, their performance really lit up the wrestling ring - prior to the young wrestling contenders arriving, of course.

Other favourites returning this year played to appreciative audiences. The North Northumberland Dog Agility team went through their paces with great confidence and dexterity. The Rothbury Highland Pipe Band played for two rousing sets. The Alnwick Northumbrian Pipers (from Piper's Share) serenaded Tea Tent customers. Peter Athey played the accordian and fiddle and recited his own work outside the Craft tent. The afternoon concluded with our traditional children’s races, anyone for a backwards 1000 yards sprint? Followed by a lively Egg Throwing competition, a parade of Novelty Dogs and of course the Grand Finale of Terrier Racing.

The day’s numerous competitions – Sheep, Terriers, Industrial, Sticks and Wrestling – were all well subscribed this year, and organizers reported excellent support from the Fair’s numerous business and personal sponsors. This year the committee were particularly pleased to receive assistance from the Northumberland National Park Authority with road safety equipment and two new Sheep Show classes.

But first we'd like to say a very big thank you to our loyal business and personal sponsors, on whose generous help we depend. We hope that in return for their support the Fair gets a whole lot better organised and more fun for those attending year by year. See our sponsors page for a full list and updates, and also check the links page for links through to some of their web-sites.

If you haven’t yet made a donation or sponsored one of the show activities but would like to do so, for this year or next year, please contact the secretary on : secretary@simonsidefair.co.uk or the chairperson on 01669 621954.

Photo Gallery from the 2010 Fair - hot from the press.