With only one week to go Alderley Edge is hoping for sunshine and looking forward to the another wonderful May Fair weekend!
The fun and games will begin this Friday with an invitation to come down to the park and pick your sport or relax at the bar to listen to some music.
The 5-a-side football competition, which is fully booked, will see eight local teams competing in the mini world cup format whilst entries for the Fun Run are still available online and a fun competition will be taking place on the bowling green. The run is free to enter, and runners are encouraged to make a donation to East Cheshire Hospice, or their own charity.
During and after the sporting events, spectators and participants will be entertained by local musicians and dance acts on the music stage. The fairground, ferris wheel and bouncy castles will be open, caterers will be serving food from 6pm and there will be a licensed bar serving beers and wine throughout the duration of the fair.
Celebrations on the Saturday will begin with a parade through the village - which will go ahead despite work being carried out to repair the sinkhole on London Road. The May Queen and Princesses and former Rose Queens will be joined by the Wizard, a town crier, vintage cars, motorcycles and bicycles, the Phoenix Pipe Band, Alderley Edge Scout Band, circus performers, Cheshire Youth Pantomime Society, local organisations and schools, horses and ponies and the Beartown Stompers Jazz Band to parade through the village.
Setting off from Chorley Hall Lane at 10.30am, meaning the roads around the village (including London Road, Chorley Hall Lane, the top of Ryleys Lane, George Street, West Street, South Grove, South Street and Brown Street) will be fully closed for around 30 minutes.
Once the parade enters the park the fair will officially open and the fun will continue. Then at midday the Royal Wedding will be shown live on a giant screen in the centre of the park on our giant screen.
The May Fair organisers are also excited to showcase 'The National Festival Circus' who will be performing in their Big Top with tickets available from the organisers' tent which will be located in the tipi next door. The first performance is at 1pm on Saturday afternoon.
The ever popular village dog show will start at 2pm featuring six categories: Perfect Puppy; Top Dog; Oldest Swinger; Best Outfit; Kid's Best Friend and Best in Show.
Throughout the afternoon there will be an opportunity to put down a picnic blanket, chill out and listen to the music and entertainment on the live music stage or enjoy the fairground rides, zorb balls, Dan's Cannons medieval weapons museum, bumper cars, donkey rides, artisan market stalls and caterers.
Paul Marshall, Chairman of the organising committee said "I am starting to get very excited about the fair this year. I think that the organising team has been amazing, and everyone has worked so well together."
He added "In 2017 the weather was poor, but I was impressed with the way that the village came out to support the event and I'm sure that they had fun. We listened to the feedback last year and we have worked extra hard to make sure that we give the village a chance to meet together and have a party.
"When we heard that HRH and Meghan had chosen the same weekend to enjoy their special day, we were so pleased that we could provide a platform for the village to celebrate together. At first, we thought should we change our date? The reaction was 'no way, let's enjoy it!, let's work with it and enjoy the Royal Wedding together'.
"I am sure that we have something for everyone this year, and don't forget that it is, and always will be, free to enter. We want to encourage people to visit our village and show how vibrant it is. Most of all we want to make sure that that those that do come have the best time and the most fun possible. I know that, to my children and their friends, this is one of the highlights of their year, and that's why we put so much effort into making sure that it will continue for many years to come."
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