Midsummer Festival

Midsummer Festival 2022

Following the cancellation of the 2020 Festival and the scaling down of the 2021 Festival, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, plans are well underway for the 2022 Festival with many of the attractions planned for 2020 to be carried forward.

This year’s Festival will take place on the 25th & 26th June at Furrowfields Recreation Ground.

The theme will be Fairy and Folk Tales and the organisers are hoping it will be third time lucky!

The programme will be as follows:

Saturday 25^th June

10am Festival Opens to the Public

10.30am Parade Assembles at Church Lane car park

11am Parade departs from Church Lane

11.30/45am Parade Arrives at Furrowfields Recreation Ground

Followed by Fancy Dress Competition Judging

12pm to 4pm Storyteller Mike Dodsworth

12pm to 5pm Fairy Tale Crown & Dragon Mask Making Workshop

12 noon Arco Iris Samba Band

12.20pm Boss Elite Cheerleaders

12.40pm Cambs ATC Corps of Drums

1pm Dog & Duck Show

1.30pm Newmarket Samba Band

2pm Ely & Littleport Riot Border Morris Dancing in MUGA

2.30pm Dog & Duck Show

3pm-6pm Acoustics Session in the Marquee

3pm Children’s and Family Sports

6pm DJ Set with Laura Dennis

7.30pm Scooted & Booted

9.30pm DJ set with Laura Dennis

10.30pm Event Closes

During the day browse amongst the stalls, enjoy the refreshments and let the youngsters join in the inflatables fun and enjoy the fairground rides.

Programme may be subject to change.

Sunday 26^th June

10am Festival Opens to the Public

10am Registration for Dog Show

10.30am Dog Show

10am – 4pm Animal Experience Tent

1pm Music from Isle ‘ave a Shanty

1pm-4pm Strawberry Cream Teas in the Marquee with Magician Dean O’dell

2pm Warm Up for Colour Fun Run

2.15pm Colour Fun Run for Toddlers/Family

2.30pm Colour Fun Run for 4-10 year olds

2.45pm Colour Fun Run for Everyone aged 11 years and over

3.15pm Tug of War Competition

4pm Event Closes

During the day browse amongst the stalls, enjoy the refreshments and let the youngsters join in the inflatables fun and enjoy the fairground rides. Programme may be subject to change.

Watch Out for the flypasts – Saturday a Hurricane and Sunday a Spitfire. (please insert a photo if possible)

Also to be included on page: Entry is £1 per person per day, re-entry permitted if hand stamped.

Access to the site is via Furrowfields (the St Stephen’s Drive gate will not be open to the public). Parking is available at Furrowfields car park.

No alcohol should be brought on the Festival site. Bag searches will be carried out and any alcohol discovered will be confiscated and returned to its owners when they leave the site.

With the exception of entry to the Festival, please note Furrowfields Recreation Ground will be closed to the public from Friday 24^th June – Monday 27^th June inclusive to enable the safe set up and taking down of equipment. Alternative recreation facilities are listed at: www.fenland.gov.uk/openspaces.

Midsummer Festival 2014

Festival Fun Despite the Rain

Crowds lined the streets to cheer on the parade which launched the 2014 Chatteris Midsummer Festival at the end of June.

The theme for the Festival was the armed forces and several organisations in the town dressed for the occasion in costumes depicting the Second World War. The parade took place in sunny weather and this attracted a good crowd to the Furrowfields Recreation Ground where the entrants were judged and the winners announced.

On the Festival site there was plenty to keep the crowds happy with a record number of stalls, historical re-enactments, an inspiring flypast by a Spitfire, shows for children and the latest attraction – numerous inflatables supplied by Discoveryourmojo.

Unfortunately the weather became increasingly wet during the afternoon and the crowds started to drift away. A number returned in the evening for the Party in the Park, which was moved into the marquee. Local singers and musicians entertained for six hours and showed just how many talented people there are in the Chatteris area.

Dog owners proved they are a hardy bunch undeterred by wet weather as they turned up in great numbers for the dog show on the Sunday. Once again the theme was the Armed Forces and the dog show classes included cutest cadet, loveliest land girl and coolest casualty.

The wet weather failed to abate but the hardy souls who turned out to support the Festival showed Chatteris relishes adversity and cheerfully took part in a very slippery tug of war competition and a bare foot It’s a Knockout competition when they tackled a tricky obstacle course of inflatables. Judging by the grins on the faces of those taking part and those watching the rain only added to the fun.

So despite the weather the Festival was far from a wash out and thanks must go to all those who made it possible, in particular the volunteers, Fenland District Council and Chatteris Town Council officers who worked hard all weekend.