Overton 2021 ‘Fete Lite’  

 

June 26th …. After a very uncertain week weather-wise, Community Councillors were up early to get a start on fete preparations looking nervously skywards.

Would this fete be the first fete when it rained?!

Incredibly it hasn’t rained during the fete for 13 years. We didn’t want Fete Lite to be the event to break that cycle – especially not after the past year we’d all endured.

Stall maps and markers were placed strategically around the village, picnic markers festooned with ribbons and what looked like about a mile of bunting went up around the football pitch. Overton was itself already bedecked with bunting outside people’s houses so goodness knows how many miles of bunting adorned Overton in the end!

Stallholders arrived to pitch their stalls and Overton positively bustled with activity. And still it did not rain.

10.00 arrived and with it the official start time of ‘Fete Lite’. The array of produce on offer on the 32 stalls dotted around the village just goes to demonstrate the amazing creativity of the mostly local businesses and organisations in and around Overton. There were stalls selling everything from cakes to cider, bird boxes to chopping boards, with quizzes, tombola, treasure hunts, bacon butties and everything else in between.

Gradually the streets of Overton thronged with people visiting the stalls, enjoying the ‘walking market’ feel and – most importantly after these past difficult months – relishing the chance to be out and about and chat with each other after such a long time locked in their houses.

And still it did not rain.

The stalls closed at 1pm and, whilst these were being packed up, the action moved to the football pitch for the Community Picnic which was another happy community event. Everyone gathered in their appointed socially distanced groupings dotted around the football pitch, spread out their picnic rugs and munched happily watching children playing in the playground and relaxing for what may have been for some the first time in months.

And then the sun came out. There were some who, at the start of the day wore raincoats, ended up with a touch of sunburn! So for the 14th year in a row, the sun shone on Overton’s fete.

Thank you to everyone for making the event such a wonderful success: for the bunting which sprung up over the course of the week all over the village leading up to the event, to all the stallholders, to the picnic goers, to the volunteers who helped organise the event, to the Football Club for allowing us to use the pitch for the picnic and everyone who came to visit the stalls and make ‘Fete Lite’ such a wonderful community event. And for helping us raise over £500 for Hope House and Nightingale House in the process.

In the words of one resident who attended, “Well done, Overton. Such a lovely place to live”

 

If you have any comments, ideas for improvement, or would like to get involved in future Fetes, please contact: 

Charlotte: 07960 538089 / ccopeman@overton-on-dee.co.uk

Katrina: 07423 569949 / clerk@overton-on-dee.co.uk