The first Three Parishes fete for three years drew the crowds to Church Knowle near Corfe Castle, and caused the organisers to run out of ice cream.
The traditional-styled event with stalls and games was held in glorious weather and raised around £12,500 for church funds and local good causes.
The first fete for three years proved a huge success
“Queues waiting to get in”
The Three Parishes Fete represents the churches at Church Knowle, Steeple and Kimmeridge. Covid restrictions meant this was the first event for three years and it was clear from the numbers that people had missed it. The fete took place at the Old Rectory in Church Knowle on Saturday 6th August 2022.
Pippa Edwards, co-ordinator along with her husband Ben, said:
“It was fantastic. We had a huge turnout with queues waiting to get in half an hour before it started.”
People queued in the sunshine to get into the event
“Amongst the best ever”
The event raises money for the three parish churches in the area and also supports Kimmeridge Emergency Response Volunteers (KERV) and the local young farmers group.
Pippa said:
“We sold out of ice cream and tins of drink – it was really busy and what is nice is that you had people who had been coming for years and even campers who come from far and wide. The feedback we had was that it was amongst the best ever.”
There was a definite feeling of nostalgia about the event
“Very good community spirit”
It was the couple’s first year in charge of organising the event but with a strong team of volunteers.
Pippa said:
“There is very good community spirit here and it was made much easier to organise because we had such good support.”
Stalls included bric-a-brac, cakes and old fashioned games like ‘splat the rat’, ‘wheel of fortune’ and skittles. A traditional coconut shy proved particularly popular. There were also competitive games like an egg and spoon race. Musical entertainment included the Salvation Army Band.
The Salvation Army provided musical entertainment
“Silliness and fun”
Pippa said:
“I think it proves that people still enjoy the traditional fete and want to participate in silliness and fun and we lose that at our peril. The whole day was very heartwarming.”
The fete was declared among the ‘best ever’
