Cue Online (Grahamstown)
Ilana Koegelenberg
2 July 2009
Don’t expect to find the Village Green fair where you left it last year – it has relocated to Rhodes University’s Great Field. Organisers claim the change of address is positive, yet many others remain unconvinced.
The Transnet Village Green Fair that used to be at Fiddler’s Green has moved to the Rhodes campus and boasts a bigger, better venue for this year.
“We have been doing the same thing for 21 years now and we’ve started to outgrow the space we had,” fair director, Selina White, said in the brief moment she could be stolen away from the almost frantic running around and last-minute organising. She said that this year they were aiming more for a family-oriented fair with a children’s tent complete with puppets and a waterslide.
White and her crew have been hard at work since 15 June to get this show running. What started with the dumping of 120 tons of wood-chips, now has been transformed into a mini town of white tents and stalls.
Tent flaps are due to roll back at nine am today but yesterday the fair grounds were still littered with half unpacked stalls and people scurrying around to get things ready. Excited chatter and optimism filled the field as you moved between stalls. According to White the vast majority of stall owners are happy with the new space.
“It was definitely a positive move,” agreed Justin Sloane, who is in charge of the popular beer tent this year. Robert Vogel, a stall owner, agreed: “Change is good, it’s been much more calm setting up this year and things are looking more attractive too.”
However, this does not mean the Fiddler’s Green is barren land. The moving truck has jumped in again and the Transnet Container Village that in previous years filled (or rather crowded) Church Square now temporarily resides here. With 100 containers (30 more than last year) organisers are hopeful for the larger space and hope to be able to get back to claiming it the best craft market in the country. But many traders claim to have drawn the short straw.
No consultation
With a move from Village Green to the Container Village, the mood shifts slightly to a more sombre atmosphere as the empty and spread-out field is circled by many still-open containers. People are unhappy. More precisely, the traders are unhappy.
Cheryl Whitman, who makes and sells clothing, has been trading at this festival for 10 years and is upset that none of the longstanding traders were consulted before making this venue-change decision.
“This is a bad idea,” she said. “The stalls are small and the rentals high.” She is worried about making money this year, especially with the economic recession, and says only the organisers are benefiting from the move, not the traders. “It’s like they have divided us into classes,” she said.
In the end it’s still too early to tell what impact exactly these transitions will have. That is all up to you, the festival-goer. So for your craft and browsing needs, make sure to swing by these new and “improved” markets. The fair is open daily and it will soon become apparent if the new setup works. But White is convinced. “I’m extremely hopeful and only expect positive results,” she said.
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