Clarendon Park Summer Fair

James Black and Monica Hingorani

Over 2000 people attended the Clarendon Park Summer Fair last Sunday. A section of Queens Road was closed for the event off so that revellers could enjoy the 50 stalls, live music and entertainment. The event was organised and ran by Clarendon Park traders, Leicester City Council and the University of Leicester.

Among the stall holders were Arvinder Hulait and Jaspreet Sandhu two 15-year-old students from Sir Jonathan North Community College who were there to promote their colourful children’s story book ‘What if…I were an animal’. Created by their award-winning school-based enterprise, their concept uses a photo of a child’s face on the back page of the book which is always visible and overlaid with an array of vibrant animal outlines. With each page, story-teller and listener are engaged in a rich and imaginative dialogue on what life would be like if they really were that animal. Arvinder enthused, ‘It’s so exciting, we’ve won the regional Young Enterprise competition with our book, and are now through to the national finals in London.’

Julia Hamer, whose hugely successful arts and crafts stall made over £200, said “I was also at the Clarendon Park Christmas Fair last December. It was the best day of my life apart from when I got married. It’s been amazing to be able to sell my creations and make people really happy in the process. The decorative bunting has been by far my most popular item of the day.”

The event’s live music was organised by the Donkey pub on Welford Road and Leicester charity Soft Touch Arts. Talented singer songwriter Sally Hossack, who attracted a large crowd for her solo acoustic set, said “I played at the Riverside Festival a few weeks ago. It’s really positive that Leicester is adding more live events to its calendar. There was a great atmosphere at the event and I really enjoyed playing in front of the Soft Touch Car which formed the busking stage for today’s festivities.”

Councillor Patrick Kitterick said “We’d like to see this type of event replicated all over the city. There are some really good shops here on the Queens Road as well as an enthusiastic community those two elements have come together to create a successful event. I think closing the road has opened up the space for everyone to enjoy themselves.”

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