The Sloe Fair is a travelling funfair that is held annually on 20 October at Northgate carpark in Chichester, West Sussex. The fair was first held in 1107[1] or 1108[2] after King Henry I of the Kingdom of England granted Ralph de Luffa, Bishop of Chichester, the right to hold a fair[1] for a period of eight days from a date of de Luffa's choosing. The fair was originally chosen to coincide with the Feast of Saint Faith the Virgin[2] on 6 October,[3] a Gallo-Romanosaint with a strong following in the area,[2] but in 1207 a license was awarded for the fair to be held several days later, on the Vigil of the Feast of the Holy Trinity and the eight days thereafter. It is, however, unclear whether the date of the fair was actually changed, and according to records held in the library of Chichester Cathedral, as late as the 18th Century the Court of Piepowders that was held on the occasion of the fair took place between the Feast of Saint Faith and the Eve of Saint Edward the Confessor, on 12 October.[3] The name "Sloe Fair" is believed to be a reference to a sloe tree that grew on the original site of the fair, in a field just outside Chichester's North Gate.[2]
In its heyday, the fair attracted traders and visitors from across Southern England.[1] Though the specific form of the event has changed over the centuries, the Sloe Fair continues to be held in the modern era. The Sloe Fair was not held during World War II and during the hostilities a caravan was placed at the site at which the fair is held, to prevent the right to hold a fair from lapsing.[2] The modern Sloe Fair is organized by the Showmen's Guild of Great Britain and the main attractions are mechanical fairground rides. In 2009, it was reported in the local press that the Showmens' Guild's right to hold the Sloe Fair stood in the way of proposals to construct a multi-storey car park on the site of Northgate carpark, where the fair is held.[4]
In 2020 the Sloe Fair was not held for the first time since World War 2 with the exception of a small non-operating ride due to a walk in by appointment COVID-19 test centre being put in the car park.[5]
The Nottingham Goose Fair is an annual travelling funfair held at the Forest Recreation Ground in Nottingham, England, during the first week of October. Largely provided by travelling Showmen, it is one of three established fairs in the United Kingdom to carry the name, the others being the smaller Goosey Fair in Tavistock, Devon, and the even smaller Michaelmas Goose Fayre in Colyford, East Devon. In recent years, there have been more than 400,000 visitors to Nottingham's fair annually.
Chichester is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England. It is the only city in West Sussex and is its county town. It was a Roman and Anglo-Saxon settlement and a major market town from those times through Norman and medieval times to the present day. It is the seat of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester, with a 12th-century cathedral.
The Minnesota State Fair is the state fair of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Also known by its slogan, "The Great Minnesota Get-Together", it is the largest state fair in the United States by average daily attendance and the second-largest state fair in the United States by total attendance, trailing only the State Fair of Texas, which generally runs twice as long as the Minnesota State Fair. The state fairgrounds, adjacent the Saint Paul campus of the University of Minnesota, are in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, midway between the state's capital city of Saint Paul and the adjacent city of Roseville, near the Como Park and Saint Anthony Park neighborhoods of Saint Paul. Residents of the state and region come to the fair to be entertained, exhibit their best livestock, show off their abilities in a variety of fields including art and cooking, learn about new products and services, and eat many different types of food—often on a stick. The Minnesota State Fair was named the best state fair in the United States in 2015 by readers of USA Today.
The Indiana State Fair is an annual state fair that spans 18 days in July and August in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. The Indiana State Fair debuted in 1852 at Military Park in Indianapolis and is the sixth oldest state fair in the U.S. It is the largest event in the state, drawing between 730,000 and 980,000 visitors annually since 2010. In 2015, readers of USA Today ranked the Indiana State Fair among the ten best state fairs in the country.
The Hoppings is an annual travelling funfair held on the Town Moor in Newcastle upon Tyne, during the last week in June. It is one of Europe's largest travelling funfairs. In recent years, over the course of the nine days it is held, it regularly attracts around 300,000 visitors.
The New York State Fair, also known as the Great New York State Fair, is a 13-day showcase of agriculture, entertainment, education, and technology. With midway rides, concessionaires, exhibits, and concerts, it has become New York's largest annual event and an end-of-summer tradition for hundreds of thousands of families from all corners of the state. The first fair took place in Syracuse in 1841, and took permanent residence there in 1890. It is the oldest and one of the largest state fairs in the United States, with over one million visitors annually.
The Erie County Fair is a fair held in Hamburg in Erie County, New York, every August. Based on 2018 attendance statistics, The Erie County Fair is the second largest fair in New York and the fourth largest county fair in North America, often drawing over one million in attendance.
Showman can have a variety of meanings, usually by context and depending on the country.
Libertyland was an amusement park located in Memphis, Tennessee. Opened on July 4, 1976, it was located at 940 Early Maxwell Blvd. It was structured under the nonprofit 501(c)4 US tax code. It closed due to financial reasons in 2005.
Barry Island Pleasure Park is an amusement park situated on the coast at Barry Island in the Vale of Glamorgan, about 10 mi (16 km) south west of the capital city Cardiff, Wales.
St Giles' Fair is an annual fair held in St Giles', a wide thoroughfare in central north Oxford, England. The origins of the fair can be traced back to medieval times where it became one of England's dynamic trading centers. The fair has survived medieval times and is organised for a two-day duration in September each year by the Oxford City Council with the London and Home Counties section of the Showmen's Guild of Great Britain.
A Waltzer is a flat fairground ride that often forms the centrepiece of traditional British and Irish fairs. The ride consists of a number of cars which spin freely while rotating around a central point, in much the same way as a carousel. As the cars revolve, the floor of the ride undulates over a track so that the cars rise and fall as the ride spins. The offset weight of the riders causes each car to rotate. The riders experience varying levels of g-force from the spinning of the car, and the rotation of the ride itself. Because of this, operators will impose height and age restrictions. The ride acts similarly to a Tilt-A-Whirl.
A traveling carnival, usually simply called a carnival, travelling funfair or travelling show, is an amusement show that may be made up of amusement rides, food vendors, merchandise vendors, games of chance and skill, thrill acts, and animal acts. A traveling carnival is not set up at a permanent location, like an amusement park or funfair, but is moved from place to place. Its roots are similar to the 19th century circus with both being fitted-up in open fields near or in town and moving to a new location after a period of time. In fact, many carnivals have circuses while others have a clown aesthetic in their decor. Unlike traditional Carnival celebrations, the North American traveling carnival is not tied to a religious observance.
Carters Steam Fair was a travelling vintage fair in England, founded in 1977 by John Carter (1942–2000), later managed by the next generation of Carters.
The Auer Dult is a traditional fair in Munich, combining a market and a German style folk festival.
Scottish Romani are the Romani people of Scotland. This includes Romanichal and Lowland Roma.
Summercourt fair is a charter fair held annually in Summercourt, a village five miles (8 km) south-east of Newquay in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The fair is held during the last week of September each year. It is one of the largest fairs in Cornwall and is over 800 years old.
The Showmen's Guild of Great Britain exists to protect the interests of Travelling Showmen in Great Britain.
Tavistock Goose Fair, known locally as the Goosey, or Goosie, Fair, is the annual fair in the stannary town of Tavistock in the west of Devon, England. It has been held on the second Wednesday of October since 1823 and it is one of only three historically established traditional fairs in the UK to carry the name, the other being the larger Nottingham Goose Fair, and the smaller Michaelmas Goose Fayre in Colyford, also in Devon.
The market town of Beverley in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, has had a fair since medieval times. In the early days the fairs were places for trading goods and animals, and were useful for meeting people and finding news of what was happening elsewhere in the country. Towns were given the right to hold fairs by Royal charter. In the early 12th century Archbishop Thurstan was granted a charter to hold fairs four times a year, each lasting up to five days. Beverley's medieval fairs were:
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