Future4fairgrounds start World Fun Fair Month
The first ever World Fun Fair Month last year in 2021 was a “huge success” say Future4fairgrounds as they celebrate their third year in 2022 as a campaign organisation.
Future4fairgrounds, which represents the travelling fairground community across the UK, was originally founded in September 2020 by “six lady Showmen”.
“We are delighted to report World Fun Fair Month has been a huge success and has evolved into something much bigger than we ever imagined,” said a Future4fairground spokesperson Colleen Roper. “We hope it’s something that will continue to grow year on year.”
World Fun Fair Month, which takes place in September, aims to unite Showmen from around the world to celebrate all aspects of the fairgrounds, and the joy they bring to communities everywhere. Showmen from the UK, Europe, North America, and Australasia were involved and working together to ensure this extraordinary event was truly global.
“After over a year of lockdowns and restrictions, with covid impacting on everyone there has been a distinct lack of fun in people’s lives,” says Colleen Roper, who describes Future4fairgrounds as an “additional voice” to the already established trade bodies for the Funfair industry.
World Fun Fair Month is a celebration not just of the industry but also of the people that share a unique cultural heritage as Showmen. This is a tradition that has been passed down from generation to generation and is intrinsically linked with the towns they visit as Showmen and the fairgrounds that have been a staple of the local community for centuries.
“We wanted to use World Fun Fair Month as a reason to spark a thought, start a conversation, and for others to find out more about Showmen,” says Colleen Roper.
“We wanted to raise the profile of Showmen in a positive way. We realised early on that unlike other Travelling communities we don’t have an awareness month or a flag and this was something that we wanted to change straight away.
“Talking to Showmen around the world only reinforced to us that we all have many shared aspects of social history and despite the miles between us we are indeed very similar,” adds Colleen Roper.
“You may have seen the World Fun Fair Month logo on flags and banners flying at many fairgrounds and on various social media platforms, which clearly shows the unity of the community as everyone got involved and were proud to say ‘I Am a Showman!’”
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LEAD PICTURE: From Right to left: Nicola, Bernice, Narvenka, Colleen, Joannie and Hayley taken this year at Blackheath Fair, London by Marcus Gaines for Future4fairgrounds