Mayfield Carnival Saturday 16th September
The Mayfield Bonfire Boyes and Belles are organising the Mayfield Carnival on Saturday 16th September.
There will be a boot/table top/afternoon market in the Memorial Hall car park 12 noon – 3.30pm (phone Jo Lee to book a table 872717) Entertainment will be held throughout the afternoon including music from The Logan Wilson Band’. Licensed bar & light lunches/afternoon teas will be available
Please support our Real Ale & cider bar and BBQ located by the Convent entrance from 5.30pm onwards- all profit goes towards next year’s event.
The children’s fancy dress competition will be held at the Memorial Hall at 3pm – this will be followed at 6.55pm by our wreath laying ceremony with blazing poppy banners at the War Memorial. The first torchlight procession will leave Station Road at 7.30pm.
The grand procession will leave the old NatWest bank at approx 9.15pm and the firework display will be in the playing fields at 10.00pm.
Important notice
Animals & children – please be aware last procession will be noisy (in front of the Middle House)
Please see programme (available in the village shops) for timings of the day’s events & processions, & contact details for Mayfield Bonfire Society.
Road closures – 6.30pm -11.30pm
This year the village will be shut to vehicles between these times. Absolutely no admittance – emergency vehicles only.
There will be one way out of the village along the Tunbridge Wells Road (from 9.30pm). Road closures include Little Trodgers, Roundabout, Coggins Mill Lane, East Street, Newick Lane and Rotherfield Lane. Please make sure you are back in the village by 6.30pm or you will have a long walk. We are following the strict guidelines set out by Sussex Police and we have to adhere to them or no carnival.
Please have some respect for the people manning the barriers. They are doing this job in a voluntary capacity. Vehicle registration numbers will be taken of those who think the road closure does not apply to them. The police will be notified and could prosecute.
A firework display will be held in Court Meadow at 10.00pm so please move horses or other nervous pets out of hearing especially in Fletching Street where I understand the fireworks are very loud in the valley. Our firework company stick to regulations concerning the loudness of fireworks.
Anyway – onto a lighter note: Barriers and Marshalling On The Night
We would be extremely grateful if we could have some volunteers to help with torch marshalling and barrier manning in shifts throughout the evening. It just involves stopping traffic while the procession moves through a section of the village or helping us with crowd control through the village and at the Memorial Hall gates on the last procession. As you can appreciate, with a lot of crosses and torches it is paramount we keep the public out of harm’s way. We would also like some help to run our fundraising bar & BBQ during the evening. Even an hour would be invaluable. We have only a small committee now and desperately need some help. It can be fun and you won’t miss the procession.
We also need some collectors during the evening so dust off your fancy dress costumes or make some new ones and come out individually or as a group and help us collect money for charity (cup to the highest collector). Phone Jo if you need help with a costume (872717). Proceeds of the collection this year will go to mayfacs, Mayfield Pre-School & the Mayfield Scouts who do an invaluable job helping us on the night. Why not try and get together with a few people from your road and organise a walking group? It would be a great way to meet newcomers to the village and could become rather competitive in future years. If you would like to try walking in the procession get in contact and we will find you a smugglers jumper or costume for the evening and then maybe you could come to some other bonfire events around Sussex. It’s a very sociable way to spend autumn Saturday nights for all ages and a great way to meet people.
We start picking up the litter from the carnival at 6.00am on Sunday morning – so if you are an early riser – a hand would be appreciated. Bacon butties/fry up & lots of tea offered as an incentive.
I would like to remind everyone that the carnival is put on free of charge for the whole village to enjoy. We work extremely hard putting on quizzes and other fund raising events but our costs as you can appreciate keep going up! This year the carnival will cost over £5500.
All money collected in the evening goes to our chosen charities. (Buckets after the fireworks at Memorial Hall gates go towards for the fireworks in 2017). Any donations towards the carnival and firework display to help our funds would be greatly appreciated, it could help keep this annual village carnival (arguably the best and most atmospheric in Sussex) going for years to come.
Pitches for the afternoon boot sale/market are available £10 in advance £15 on the day. Ring Jo 872717
Donations towards Bonfire Society costs can be given in at The Shopping Basket or sent to Mrs J M Lee, 4, Victoria Cottages, Love Lane, Mayfield, TN20 6EN cheques made payable to m.b.b.b.
New members always welcome as are any suggestions to enhance this special event as well as cakes (any variety)/sausage rolls/savoury items (to feed the hungry visiting societies) & tombola/raffle prizes (to raise funds for the society). Please deliver cakes/prizes to the Memorial Hall from 10am on Saturday 16th September.
Jo Lee Chairman 872717 / 07855 231 888
Details Also on Mayfield Bonfire Society Website and Facebook page