Thousand enjoy return of Thatcham Festival at the weekend

The Big Thatcham Fest Off kicked off the town’s festivities at the weekend as stalls and music filled the High Street.

Thatcham’s 10-day festival has gotten off to a flying start, with more than 1,000 people attending the official opening on Saturday (October 12).

Events manager at Thatcham Town Council John Sackett said: “The first day got the festival off to a flyer with both Thatcham Comedy Club, which took place at Thatcham Bowls Club, and a historic talk on Thatcham at Thatcham Town Council, presenting to full audiences.

“Saturday saw Thatcham High Street closed to vehicles and in its place, music stages, street food and gift stalls enjoyed by over 1,000 people throughout the late afternoon and evening.”

Delphic Brewery, Gee Gee Gin, Jerk Chicken and Roots Vegan Food were among the local enterprises and businesses keeping visitors refreshed throughout the celebrations.

Other High Street retailers opened late or organised stalls, including Picture It Framed, Newbury Building Society, Vanillo, SA-ZIM and Community Spirit.

Mayor of Thatcham Suzanne Adamantos said: “There was much to entertain with my highlights being the main stage with local band The Station and Beyond the Sons, and the colourful Asian Dancers supplied through Community United.

“I also enjoyed Sion Whiley on the smaller acoustic stage at the bottom of the High Street.”

Other events also well-attended over the weekend included the Thatcham Festival Arts Exhibition, where more than 30 artists showcased their work to 120 visitors at the historic Old Bluecoat School.

A total of 117 entries were received along with several sales and five potential future exhibitors in another successful exhibition.

The award for this year’s favourite picture was ‘Who Put The Light On’ by Cath Hamblin, which won by just a few votes, with ‘Light In The Forest’ by Alexandra Thurston a close runner up.

Mrs Adamantos presented the prize of ‘Two Hours Art Tuition’ to the winner, donated by Tanya Patey.

Thatcham based Hackspace also opened its doors for audiences to play Retro Games including Pacman and Space Invaders or play with Droid robots.

Other attractions over the weekend were a Classic Car Show at the Memorial Playing Fields and a Ukulele workshop at St Marys Church.

There are still more events to come, and many are free to attend.

Please visit https://thatchamtowncouncil.gov.uk/events to register your interest now.