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The Parish Council of Winsham encouraged by their Chairman, Mary Loaring, decided to take part, by reviving the Street Fair with the theme of the Monmouth Rebellion on the dates laid down in the Ancient Charter. The County Authorities had issued ideas and details of correct period costumes etc. and the Parish Council, organisers of the Street Fair that year, were able to use this information to good effect.
That Street fair was so successful that two years later in 1987, the anniversary year of Queen Victoria's Jubilee celebrations and the gift of the Hall to the Village, the Jubilee Hall Committee organised the Street Fair with a Victorian theme. The monies raised were put to good use, the Jubilee Hall was extended and a kitchen fitted out. This arrangement continued with various themes until 1996 when a Street Fair Committee was formed to ensure continuation of the tradition. The Street fair Committee, a group of locals who spend two years generally enjoying themselves, raise money by organising events in the village. The money raised is used to sponsor and to support the organisation of each Street Fair.
The theme for the last three Street Fairs have been (1996) Wild West, (1998)
Carnival and (2000) Back to the Future. Church Street and its surrounding areas
are decorated to suit the Theme and each organisation in the village has a
stall or stalls to raise money. Other attractions are brought in and sponsored
using funds raised by the Street Fair Committee to help everything go with a
swing. One of the important points about the Street fair in its modern guise is that it
attracts people from outside the village and gives local organisation the
opportunity to raise money. An added benefit is that it brings villagers,
past and present, together and renews all those old acquaintances. We meet
all those people that we haven't seen for two years.
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