Feast & Fayre event

Essex’s biggest village event will take place in Horndon-on-the-Hill over the weekend of June 27th and
28th.

Horndon-on-the-Hill Feast & Fayre traditionally harks back to the 14th century, when the village was granted a charter to hold a ‘feast and celebration’ by King Edward 1st on the eve of the patronal festival of St. Peter & St. Paul, an annual religious celebration observed on June 29th. It honours the martyrdom in Rome of the two foundational apostles, St. Peter & St. Paul, who played vital roles in establishing the early Christian church. In modern times, the event has always been staged in the last weekend in June, in line with the June 29th festival at St Peter & St Paul parish church.

The event was revived in 1974, and St Peter & St Paul Church was open during the weekend with a themed flower festival. This tradition continues and Feast & Fayre has expanded massively over the years to provide thousands of local people and visitors with a weekend of music, entertainment, stalls, crafts, food and drink.

The Horndon 10K has also been an annual fixture on the Sunday of Feast & Fayre and over 500 runners are expected to take part this year, in this UK Athletics event.

There will be many performances by the Thurrock based Complete Commedia Company, local Morris dancers and musicians and bands from across the area. The tug-of-war between the two village pubs, The Bell and The Swan, will conclude the weekend’s activities.

Between 9am and 5pm, main roads into the village will be closed to accommodate the many food, craft and charity stalls that line the streets over the course of the weekend. The headline charity to benefit from this year’s event will be the South Essex Wildlife Hospital, located just a mile from Horndon, which has been saving Essex wildlife since 1990. Run by founder Sue Schwar and head vet Tom Linsel, the charity admits more than 10,500 animals annually and works

24/7, 365 days a year to give sick, injured or orphaned wild animals a second chance at life. As a long-term supporter of SEWH, Feast & Fayre lead sponsor DP World is also playing its part in preserving wildlife – helping to fund a specialist ‘seal hospital’ and making SEWH one of only 12 places nationally that can treat these specialist animals. In addition to regular donations (both financial and of much-needed items), the DP World and SEWH teams have been working closely to ensure the future of wildlife in Essex.

“During Feast & Fayre weekend, visitors will get the chance to meet the hospital staff face-to-face and hope they will give generously to support their work helping the animals and birds who share our environment,”

said Nigel Sergent, Co-chair of the Feast & Fayre organising committee.