Swindon Children's Fete 9 August. Reviving a tradition for the first time in 64 years

Prospects for the first Mechanics' Institution Children's Fete since 1939 are looking bright.

The Park in Faringdon Road is looking green, and the weather is promising to settle down. Children of all ages who won't be away on their holidays will find a happy local option for a day out from 2pm to 9pm.

The 'Annual Juvenile Fete' (as it was originally known) was a fixture in the Swindon calendar from 1869 until 1939, but it never emerged from the exhaustion of World War II. Many elder members of the Swindon Mechanics' Preservation Trust have described the thrill of that special annual day focussed on children. The photos of The Park from those days show beaming crowds of all ages.

Unlike the old days, hats will not be required, but may be recommended if the sun shines 9 August.

This year's event has been enabled by a grant of £500 from the GWRadio Christmas Appeal and also to Swindon Council for the venue and staff support from many corners.

The day will start with a peal of bells from St. Mark's at 2pm, followed by the grand entrance of Swindon's 'Queen Victoria' Mary Ratcliffe and Mayor and Mayoress Derek Benfield.

Queen Victoria was crowned only a few years before The Park was laid out in the 1840's as a cricket ground. And the Mayor and Mayoress were among the crowd of Swindon children at the 1939 Fete. They met later, of course, and legend has it that they 'courted' in the balcony of the theatre at the Mechanics' Institute.

The dignitaries will be enthroned upon seats re-claimed from Swindon's old 'Queen's Theatre, later renamed the 'Empire Theatre' (but demolished in 1960).

They will then judge the costumes, for prizes donated by the New Swindon Company, in the following categories: 'Victorian', 'World War II', and 'Sixties'.

Then entries for the Fruitcake Competition will be tasted by any 'Elder Children' (those who were present in 1939), and a prize awarded. The recipe for the half pound slabs of fruitcake distributed to each child in the 'old days' has been lost to time, but tastebuds will tell which recipe will be baked for next year.

The cakes will then be auctioned for proceeds towards next year's Children's Fete, which will mark the 150th anniversary of the construction of the Mechanics' Institution building in 1854, the same year Swindon's paper the Evening Advertiser was first published.

Fund-raising stalls by local children's charities should claim some of the pocket money saved by the free admission. Food, drink and old-fashioned sweets stalls will probably soak up the rest! Bouncy castles, face-painters and children's rides will soak up the energy left from dancing to the music. Local playworkers will offer games and art for the youngest set; music and a graffitti artwork 'in progress' should capture the youth.

The musical programme will 'pick up where we left off' in 1939, with pop songs of each decade in turn marked with live performances by local dancers and musicians. An effort will be made to tell a bit of Swindon's story, as punctuated by the music. A special marquee for the Elder Children will provide space to record memories, share cuppas and a bit of 'community singing' perhaps.

Dance will take on a new meaning at the 8.30pm when the winners of the Diesel New Music Award 2003 for 'Best Dance Band' NEBULAE from Swindon perform.

The last touch, at 9pm, will be a firework, sponsored by the Old Town Festival Committee, which was a fond feature of the traditional Fete.

Proceeds from the Children's Fete will finance next year's event. The New Mechanics' Institution Preservation Trust Limited is a registered charity, and is owned and run by its members and their elected Trustees. Membership is £1 annually, and will be solicited on the day.

Organiser Martha Parry said, "this event is a genuine, grassroots community effort to re-claim some of Swindon's lost story, by involving people across the whole town in a traditional event Swindon has a fascinating legacy, reflected in the scale of the Mechanics' Institution building, and in the memories of its people. It is an inspirational story, well worth sharing with the vast numbers of newcomers to Swindon since World War II. It is a shared experience since 1840 when the GWR was established close to the village that was Swindon, that of re-locating here for work, with young families."

Contact: Martha Parry, tel/fax: 01793 520592 - preferred contact or mail: mail@new-mechanics.com

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