By Anonymous, 19 May 2016, 12:52PM
June is here so it’s time for one of the most colourful days in Wellington’s calendar – the Wellington Midsummer Fayre.
The Midsummer Fayre will take place on Saturday 11th June between 10am and 3pm around All Saints Church and the Market Square. Organised by voluntary group Wellington H2A in collaboration with All Saints Church, the event is inspired by the June fairs first recorded in the town’s Market Charter of 1244 and the ‘Wellington Jubilee’ festivities of the 1700s. In its modern incarnation, the event is funded by Wellington Town Council and Wellington Market Company, and sets out to celebrate the music, food and crafts made around The Wrekin.
Hadley Orpheus Choir, Wellington Brass Band and Odd Socks Folk Band will be providing the music inside and outside the parish church, along with acts as diverse as medieval minstrel Wyndebagge, Dothill School Choir and indie band The Evacs. Down in Market Square, the Shrewsbury Mummers and Jack the Jester will be drawing the crowds from 11am, followed by New Orleans-inspired street music from Mr Wilson’s Second Liners at midday. The church lawns, meanwhile, will become an open-air tea room and artisan market, with over forty stalls offering everything from a farmer’s hog roast and ice cream to ceramics and hand-turned wooden goods.
At 1pm the day will take a Georgian turn as the costumed ‘Jubilee Procession’ makes its way around the centre of the town. Recreating a procession first recorded at the Wellington Jubilee pageant of 1773, it will feature many of the original characters including classical gods and goddesses, townspeople of the period, and King George III himself. After the procession, there will also be a chance for children to have a go at bell-ringing in the church tower, before Mr Wilson’s Second Liners perform for a final time.
For more details about the Fayre, including a full programme, visit the events pages of www.wellingtonsoup.org
