Today’s Treasures – Blackberry Fair 2022

The magic is back – Blackberry Fair was amazing again – wonderful people, incredible music – and so many smiles – it was like we had all been saving them up for 3 years – since the last street festival here.

This living, breathing celebration of music, song, dance, poetry and street theatre, stretched from Green End to the Bull Ring, and on – up to the Black Bear and beyond – and attracted more visitors than ever – enjoying local food, real ale, mouth-watering sweets, freshly-baked cakes, and real sausages and beef burgers – all accompanied by street music wherever you went in this normally tranquil, market town.

Whitchurch’s unique street carnival inspires, fires the imagination, screams innovation, young and old are all captivated, drawn into the spirit of creativity and sustainability – all shared by bands from far and near – the Old Time Sailors, Cosmic Rays, The Odd Bods, music from every genre – including the hypnotic, mesmerising music from Zuma – with its exotic, tantalising, foot-tapping beats.

The crew, and all the volunteers were dressed up alongside the musicians and Morris dancers – there were magicians and wizards, mad hatters and giants – and plenty of pirates – Theodora the Witch and Harbinder the elephant, and all the characters that followed the raven and the unicorn as the Carnival of Hope wound its way through the town, gathering at St. Alkmund’s church at the end of the afternoon.

Thank you Steve and your army of volunteers for another amazing festival of music and mayhem, light and laughter, sunshine and smiles and all the characters, singers, dancers, artists and musicians who made the day so special.

Published in the November edition of the Whitchurch Gossip