UPDATE: Strawberry Fair 2011 is ON!!! See http://www.strawberry-fair.org.uk/ for more info.

So, it turns out that for the first time since 1974 (I think), the Strawberry Fair in Cambridge has been cancelled. This is not good, but there is hope.

Strawberry Fair

Some of my facts may be wrong in the following text, but I will attempt to paint as accurate a picture as I can. Please leave a comment if you’d like to correct or comment on anything you read here!

Anyway… for those of you who don’t know, the so called “Strawberry Fair” is held on Midsummer Common in Cambridge, UK every June. It is a one day festival of music, entertainments, arts and crafts which is organised and run by volunteers and free of charge for all who wish to attend. It has become a something which I, and many others, look forward to each and every year.

I like the fact that Sarah and I can turn up at lunchtime, bump into lots of my old school friends who I wouldn’t otherwise see and spend the entire day sitting on the grass listening to great music!

However, every year, the police campaign to stop the Strawberry Fair going ahead. I believe their reason for doing so is primarily the cost and effort involved in policing the event. The Strawberry Fair does have a reputation for various drugs being taken although I’m sure it’s almost exclusively marijuana, and even that isn’t being smoked visibly (not often, anyway). And we all know marijuana is far less anti-social than alcohol, don’t we?

There are a lot of drunk people too, but the worst I’ve ever seen any of them doing is wanting random hugs from people! I’ve never seen any violence, and never heard of any really bad stuff going on at all. Having said that, I’ve always left by 7 or 8pm due to either the onset of heat stroke of sheer tiredness from being in the sun for 8 hours! Who knows what goes on later in the evening. Probably more of the same though, in my opinion!

Overall, the Strawberry Fair is a friendly, family environment suitable for everyone (and I mean everyone – all ages, all types, everyone!).

Anyway – this year (and previous years too) the police attempted to get the event called off once again. The Strawberry Fair committee appealed, and the fair was granted a license! We hear this same story every year. What makes this year different, though, is that the police have appealed against the decision to give the fair a license, and the resulting procedings mean that by the time the Fair committee find out whether they have a license or not, it’ll be too late to organise this year’s fair.

The decision to cancel this years fair has been taken by the organisers to allow them to concentrate on appealing against the appeal in order to secure the fair’s license for the years to come, and while the fact that the fair has been cancelled is very disappointing, I fully support the organiser’s decision to do so. I’d much rather see the fair go ahead for the foreseeable future and miss one year, than to have a fair this year, but never again.

So… other than raising awareness of this issue, the other reason for this blog post is to suggest to you, my readers, to have a browse around the Strawberry Fair web site and if you feel you might be able to help out (either with the procedings or by volunteering at future events [hopefully!]) feel free to get in touch with the organisers! Failing that, why not join the Strawberry Fair facebook group and post a comment to show your support!

For any organisers reading this post, great decision on cancelling this year’s show to concentrate on the appeal, and I wish you the best of luck securing a license for future years! This fair has become a major part of many people’s lives and it would be terrible to see it disappear after 36 years as I’m sure you agree!

Long live the Strawberry Fair!




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