Shipston Wool Fair hailed a great success

The 2017 Shipston Wool Fair Weekend has been hailed a tremendous success – despite some challenging weather at times.

Thanks to Shipston’s first ever ‘yarn-bombing’, the visual impact of the wool fair was more striking than ever, with fantastic knitting adorning the main entrances to the town as well as trees, benches, and signposts in the centre. Among the favourites were the giant sheep on the gyratory, the maypole on London Road and the bicycle outside the Horseshoe Pub. But perhaps the most photographed display was ‘Pedro’ who was spotted quietly reading a copy of the Shipston Forum in the town centre, much to the delight of residents and visitors.

The Totally Locally Fair attracted a wide variety of craftspeople on the Saturday, with many people buying unique treats and gifts to take home. The Community Songs of Praise on the Sunday attracted a large audience. The free event was an opportunity for local community groups and individuals to perform music, songs and readings to the delight of all who attended. The collection was split between St Edmund’s Church and Shipston Rotary’s charity for the occasion – the fund to help those affected by the recent tragic event in Manchester. 

Finally, the Wool Fair itself attracted crowds of people who came to marvel at the sheep shearing, take part in all the fun and games and enjoy the music. There were plenty of ice creams being sold despite the gloomy weather and the atmosphere was buzzing all day long.

Mayor, Dan Scobie, said: “I would like to congratulate all those who worked so hard to make the Wool Fair Weekend another great success. The yarn bombing really caught people’s imagination and it was lovely to see the town looking so colourful.”