A Day of Good Old Fashioned Family Fun

Chiswick Summer Fair raises over £20,000 for local charities

Chiswick turned out in numbers on 10th July as The Chiswick Summer Fair took over Turnham Green for a day of entertainment, home cooked food and old fashioned family fun.

Organised by the parishioners of Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church the day was a roaring success with a record turnout and a record sum of over £20,000 raised for seven local charities including The Tommy Hollis Foundation and Acton Homeless.

The stalls traded well all day and the world food and tea tents provided hungry and sun-soaked fair goers with hearty sustenance. The main stage was packed with entertainment with folk music from Wing and a Prayer, psychedelic jazz band Mango Jango and the enchanting vocals of local talent Agatha Uchendu. Anita La Maltesa and Ramon Ruiz enthralled the audience with their flamenco and the Pop Stars, Stage Academy and the Little Luvvies put on some truly spectacular song and dance numbers.

The highlight of the day for many was the annual tug of war competition - this year won convincingly by the 'BBQ Boys' who defeated the ‘Beer Tent Bruisers’ 2-0. BBC's Joanna Gosling was on hand to commentate on the event and present the medals to the winners.

Fr. Anthony Dwyer, Parish Priest at Our Lady of Grace and St Edward said, “the Fair is a fabulous witness to the community spirit in Chiswick, where people from all faiths and backgrounds can celebrate together. The organising committee worked tirelessly for 6 months to deliver a wonderful day and all the hard work is rewarded in the autumn when we will distribute the proceeds to the seven local charities we are supporting this year".

The Fair was sponsored by local businesses Volvo and Waitrose and Chiswick's business community clubbed together to lend their support. The staff from the George IV organised the beer tent, Edward D'Arc provided pre-event promotion and Featherstone Leigh sponsored the station for the under 10s’ fun train, Aktiva ran the football competition, AYA Creative designed the programme and many others in a variety of ways contributed to make the day a success.

July 23, 2010