17th Village Gala
May 22nd - 26th, 2025
It's Gala Time
(in case you had forgotten)
The late May Bank Holiday Weekend always brings the gala in Easton, and this year is the 17th, 18 years after the first one of the “modern era” which replaced the bi-annual village fete.
We have grown over the years into a 5 day extravaganza of fun and fund raising, lubricated by the Alex’s now legendary Beer Festival. We raise funds for all participating village groups and last year raised over £3,500 plus what the groups made for themselves on their stalls, and entertained several hundred people from the village and beyond with everything from Maypole Dancing to Heavy Metal.
This year the Gala Committee has gratefully welcomed a few new helpers and things are progressing nicely towards another successful and fun event.
The full programme is below but some highlights for villagers to note in advance:
If you want to take part in the Giant Pub Quiz on Thursday 22nd you need to assemble a team of 6 and book with the pub; 763003. £20 per team. The Beer Festival opens at 5.00pm
The Friday 23rd evening act is “Groove Cartel”- a really excellent 9 piece band who are guaranteed to get everyone on their feet in the giant marquee. Alex won't be doing food himself this year on the Friday but there will be a Food Truck outside.
The first Car Boot Sale is aimed at villagers who don't normally “do booting”. a few spaces remain on the Saturday morning in the Blue Bell Garden at a very reasonable £10 per pitch. Contact Richard and Liz James at 16a Church St or rsjames1@outlook.com to book your space and have a clearout. If you know of any local food producers who might want to join in (takeaway) then put them in touch too.
Saturday night's “Easton's Got Euro Talent” is loosely themed around Eurovision, with around 10 acts so far pledged to take part, with acts ranging from classic Eurovision reprises to dubious rip-offs of sketches and re-written classics performed by fictitious countries. Still time to get an act together and join in, let me know if you fancy it. tim@mihcentre.co.uk . Tickets on the door only, £5.00 adults, £3.00 children.
Sunday's Beer and Bands extravaganza will no doubt bring plenty of visitors to the village, and does a huge amount to promote The Blue Bell and the village thought the year. It's a free event and we do expect some parking pressures.
We will do all we can with signage to encourage responsible parking and CIPS have agreed to open their car park as overflow but please be patient and understanding- some drivers don't seem to pay attention to signs. Catering will all be from visiting Food Trucks this year- Grasmere Farms and “El Ajolte” Mexican food as well as regulars “Cookie Box”.
Dog Show run by Sarah Gardener is getting to be as big as the Fete and if you are entering you would be well advised to register from 10.00am. The Fete itself follows the Dog Show when local groups offer entertainment for your support and craft stalls offer retail therapy. The Bottle Tombola is a big fundraiser for all the groups and donations are sought from all- please deliver to Kevin Cox at 1 Western Avenue or contact him on kevin@globaltilesuk.com. Alex will do some catering on the Monday, and there will a Hog Roast from Sunnyside Farm thanks to Duncan Mitchell. Entertainment in the “Arena” will include Maypole Dancing, Morris Dancing, and this year's slightly bonkers idea involving horse costumes and grown men risking their dignity; Chariot Racing.
The grand raffle (£250 cash prize) is a major fundraiser and tickets are available now and all village groups should have some as of Monday 28th April, when we have our next and possibly final, planning meeting at 7.00pm in the Bell.
Did I mention the Beer Festival? 30plus beers plus ciders, gins, wines etc, all available all weekend in the giant marquee. {}Width12000Width3 • Did I mention the Beer Festival? 30plus beers plus ciders, gins, wines etc, all available all weekend in the giant marquee. {}Width12000Width3 • Did I mention the Beer Festival? 30plus beers plus ciders, gins, wines etc, all available all weekend in the giant marquee. {}Width12000Width3 • Did I mention the Beer Festival? 30plus beers plus ciders, gins, wines etc, all available all weekend in the giant marquee. {}Width12000Width3 • Did I mention the Beer Festival? 30plus beers plus ciders, gins, wines etc, all available all weekend in the giant marquee. • Did I mention the Beer Festival? 30plus beers plus ciders, gins, wines etc, all available all weekend in the giant marquee.
Did I mention the Beer Festival? 30 plus beers plus ciders, gins, wines etc, all available all weekend in the giant marquee.
None of this would be possible without the commitment and financial investment from Alex and Cinzia at the Blue Bell, and the Gala Fund is financially supported by local sponsors Richardson’s, Messenger, Sharmans, Mitchell Farms, and Alltech. Thanks hugely to them, and to all the providers of raffle prizes and helpers on the committee.
Here’s to another successful year - hope to see you all there.
Cheers!
Tim Nicol.
With the Gala on our mind we are excited to share this opportunity for one of our Easton's Got Talent great supporters.
Briony has recently been offered a place at the world renowned Sylvia Young Theatre School in London, which is the UK’s premier Performing arts school. They only accept 12 students from across the UK, so it is a huge honour and achievement for Briony made even more remarkable as back in September she was airlifted to Queens Medical Centre with a brain injury after being hit by a car and knocked off her bike on Casterton Rd. She has made a full recovery since then and has gone on to successfully audition for the Sylvia Young Theatre School, beating hundreds of other applications from across the UK. They have offered her a place for September 2025.
We would love to be able to afford to send Briony, but sadly there is no government funding. SKDC used to offer Creative Artists Small Grants Funds of up to £1500 as part of Invest SK, but funding from the council has dried up, and the council have told me there is no funding available for educational grants from them anymore.
We have managed to raise about 50% of the funds through charitable trusts and private benefactors, but we are still short about £10,000. So, I have set up a GoFundMe account and I was wondering if you may be able to circulate it amongst any of the residents of Easton on the Hill with a keen interest in supporting Education / Performing arts etc. and or anyone who knows Briony or has seen her perform at Easton’s Got Talent over the years. We did apply to the Garford Foundation but because we are not resident in Easton we were not eligible.
As you know we’ve supported Easton for many years at the Gala with Maypole and Easton’s Got Talent, so I was hopeful that villagers will know her and perhaps be keen to help, even in a very small way.
Here is a link to the Go Fund Me page:
Warmest wishes
Maggie Purr