Hundreds of people flocked to Stoke Village on Sunday July 16 for the popular Stoke Fun Day.
With several events across the area having to be cancelled the day before because of heavy rain and high wind, organisers were holding the breath for the big day. Fortunately, the prayers of one of the early artists on stage, Dave Cross, were answered, and the Stoke Fun Day ran its course with only one short lived shower. The Fun Day was a great success: Devonport Road was closed for the day to allow stalls to spill out from the nearby Blockhouse Park and let local businesses feel part of the festivities.
There were over 50 stalls in total selling everything from cows’ ears (and other dog delicacies) to semi precious polished stones which proved irresistible to ten year old boys. Local businesses did a roaring trade and the Fun Day organisers were especially grateful to those who really entered into the spirit of the event. Huge thanks go to Paul Smith from Stoke Café for offering free hot drinks to hard working volunteers and to Muradi Farhadi for providing them with free pizza at the end of a very long day.
And once again the local Stoke Ward councillors supported some of the costs of ensuring the Fun Day ran in a professional manner with sufficient toilets, bins, security, ambulance presence and a safe road closure.
In addition to stalls, there was bouncy entertainment and a carousel for children, a dog show hosted by Gables Cat and Dog Home, musical entertainment on two stages, some spoken word poetry from the Village Hub Words Group, Crooked Tempo Samba Band and Dartmoor Border Morris Dancers.
The Morris Dancers were able to perform this year in the newly developed Village Square Garden which is a great asset to Stoke Village, designed by local resident Kenny Raybould and planted and maintained entirely by local people. The Samba Band led a procession of local people happy to shout out the message ‘Love the Place you Live!’
Comments collected on the day included ‘Amazing to see local kids performing and rocking out!’ and ‘Everyone is so kind and friendly.’
The Fun Day is just an expression of the goodwill that already exists in the local community and the organisers – Diverse Events and The Village Hub – were delighted to facilitate this.
