A message from Joby Carter
“As we build up the fair for our final ever Maidenhead date this weekend at Holyport, I wanted to update you all on the current status of the fair.
Here are the facts as of October 2022:
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- This is the final year of taking the fair on tour: there won’t be a tour in 2023 or in future years but we are keen to ensure that the magic of this unique collection of vintage fairground rides lives on. There is no other fair in the world like us. Our rare vintage ride collection spans over 70 years of British fairground history and fairground art from 1895 to 1965, all of which we have preserved and maintained in immaculate working order for everyone to enjoy.
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- We want to find a way of preserving this legacy whether that is by selling it to a new owner who can host it at their existing visitor attraction or by finding suitable land that can be developed into a new visitor attraction. If we are to develop a new site, we need external help in the form of investment and guidance. As a small family business, we are experts at touring the fair, but we are not experts in buying and developing land and creating the infrastructure that a permanent visitor attraction needs.
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- There have been many comments about the reasons we are finishing touring. The truth is that it’s getting increasingly hard to travel vintage equipment using vintage vehicles in modern times. Unfortunately, the planning and logistics involved in taking the fair to 22 different locations is becoming more expensive and more complicated to manage.
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- By hosting the fair on a permanent site in a building it will help reduce the wear and tear on these beautiful old rides which will make it easier to preserve them for everyone to enjoy. We’d love to have an education centre there so that all generations from school children to further education students and those studying an apprenticeship can learn signwriting, gilding and fairground art. We’d also be able to share the important part that fairgrounds have played in our social history through the decades and we could help bring STEM topics to life for children of all ages.
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- It would be amazing if this could be in Maidenhead as we have so many fans here and there is local history of steam rallies here with the 1964 Shottesbrook Great Steam Fair and steam rallies at Knowle Hill. We have had meetings with local Royal Borough councillors, but we have not found suitable land to buy, and we have not had any other offers of support to help progress this dream any further.
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- We’ve seen an incredible number of visitors this year – loyal fans and new fans who have been gutted to only be discovering us for the first time! Thank you to everyone that has taken the time to chat to me at the fair or to give me a thank you card or to share personal memories. It really is incredible to hear how many lives we have been a part of over the last 45 years. I still get emotional when I think of the little boy with the ‘Thank you for the memories’ banner on our Road Run at Pinkneys Green!
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- We have talked to a number of prospective buyers, and we plan to continue those conversations over the next year. We have also turned down many offers to buy our fairground rides and transport individually as we want to give it every chance of finding a home as a collection. If we can’t find the right solution for the fair in the next 12 months then we will reconsider this and will look at selling the rides individually at auction.
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- We have pledged that we will spend the next 12 months raising awareness of the fair with anyone that may be able to help it find a permanent home which includes speaking to individuals involved in heritage and the arts at a national level, government representatives, potential investors and those with expertise to guide us through these next stages. We’d love your help in spreading the word.
I’m proud of what we have achieved – it’s incredible to think we have a global fanbase for our fair! We’re popular with all generations including grandparents who bring along their families, parents with children of all ages and a younger audience are interested in the fair on TikTok – there are 3 million uses of the hashtag #cartersteamfair on TikTok! It has been amazing to hear how much you have all enjoyed the fair and how much you hope that it can continue.
What can you do to help?
You can share this post so we raise awareness of the fair and our quest to preserve this unique bit of British fairground history.
COME AND VISIT THE FAIR! We have one weekend left in Maidenhead (8th and 9th October) and then we are open at Reading in Prospect Park on the 15th and 16th of October and all the way through half term from the 22nd to the 30th October. Our free ride deals are all online – you can buy your tokens online and collect at the fair.
You can of course also buy a poster! We have a lovely range of commemorative items available on our website and when you visit at the fair.
If you are a journalist or broadcaster and would like to feature the fair and our quest for a permanent home, please get in touch by emailing [email protected]
If you are interested in helping us find land or are interested in buying the fair, please see our dedicated webpage about the sale of the fair and feel free to get in touch.
Thank you everyone. It is the end of an incredible era, but we want to reassure you that we will work as hard as we can to let the magic continue.
See you at Holyport or Reading,
Joby and Georgina Carter
