Alverstoke Michaelmas Fayre

SATURDAY, September 30th will be the date of the 33rd year of the Michaelmas Fayre which is now organised by Gosport Rotary Club.

Last year, more than £20,000 was raised from the day-long event in Alverstoke village to local good causes. Large donations were made to the Mayor of Gosport’s Charity Appeal, Alverstoke Parish Centre, and Gosport Rotary Club

Every year, the Michaelmas Fayre features a host of activities around Alverstoke, with the road through the centre of the village shut off to allow for stalls and also displays.

Organisation of the event is co-ordinated between Gosport Rotary Club and the St Mary's Parish Council Committee. On the day of the event, stewards are drawn from the Rotary club, Friends of Gosport Rotary Club and St Mary's Church.

This year, we will have all your favourites back. There will be entertainment from the Big Noise Samba Band, the HMS Sultan Volunteer Band, the New Thorngate Singers and the Harry Strutters Jazz Quartet as well as the Walls’ Funfair and the Kiddies' 10p Messy Fete. There will be around 150 stalls with some interesting new faces.

Enjoy a traffic-free Alverstoke village for an afternoon packed with marching bands, 100 plus local organisations with stalls, plenty of food and drink nestling alongside the village shops at the heart of Alverstoke.

The day ends with a community concert in St Mary's Church from 7pm featuring a range of musicians and wholehearted singing with 'Not the Last Night of the Proms'. It all adds up to creating a community atmosphere and makes for a memorable event.

Michaelmas Fairs are a community tradition which go back to the medieval period. They can also be known as ‘Goose Fairs’ from the days of Queen Elizabeth, who ate goose to celebrate the nation’s deliverance from the Armada.

Even though our current Michaelmas Fayre in Alverstoke may only be in it’s twenties, there will have been a long tradition of celebrating Michaelmas in the parish church.

The feast of St.Michael, who is a celebrated angel in the Bible, signifies the end of the season’s harvest, of the nights drawing in, of farm labourers seeking winter employment, will have moved our community in celebration for many centuries past.

From their Michaelmas services in church, the historic fairs also called out to God for safe-keeping through the pending winter.