Summer Fête on Ball Hill-29 June 2024

Memories from the day

We celebrated our first Summer Fête on Ball Hill last weekend (29th June) and we had a fantastic turnout! More than 200 people visited the church and then later made their way up to the 2 Tone Village. 

St Margaret’s Church organised multiple stalls where Ball Hill-ians could find anything from jewellery & toys to second hand books. Of course the Destination Ball Hill team was also present with their surveys & petitions as well as to simply chat about Ball Hill. One could also purchase the wonderful new book “Shauny and the Little Bee” by Ball Hill-ian author Angela Keen or get free plants and seed bombs from Jane (Green Growthers Community Group). There were also multiple mystery bags and a big tombola at the end with amazing prices.

Next to the stalls there were loads of Crafting opportunities for kids (and those young at heart) as well as the opportunity to sparkle up with some fabulous face paint art. Throughout the event Messy the Monkey & its guardian Tina spread joy among the visitors with many posing for a picture and wanting to pet the fluffy fur. Finally, the great finale ended with a big Splash - Throw a Sponge at the Vicar! Rev Pam, geared with some Ski goggles bravely faced a gleeful group of little ones waiting to (gently) take their aim at the vicar with their wet sponges. The soundtrack was delivered by live band “The Koalas” featuring the Reverend as the lead singer.

Flanked by purple banners, the crowd then made their way up to the 2-Tone village where they were welcomed by Angela & Alp with a BBQ, sunshine and some cool tunes. 

Next to tasty refreshments some of the stalls moved up to Village and the DBH team shared their plans for a Community Hub and informed locals about their petitions to oppose the 24h extension from Merkur Slots as well as to bring back some form of banking to the area. Ball Hill-ians mingled, enjoyed the sunshine and got to dance to another live performance by the Koalas, enrapturing the crowds until the late hours of the afternoon.

We are really pleased with this first big summer celebration on Ball Hill - thank you all for coming and celebrating our community!