Saturday 19th June was a warm sunny day, just ideal for holding the Ballynure Village Fair, the first for many years. It all kicked off at 12.30pm when music from the boy band “JAG” from Ballymena could be heard up and down the Main Street.
Within no time at all, the whole village was filled with people perusing the many stalls located within the local car parks of the Presbyterian, Methodist and Ballad Inn Pub and on Main Street, closed off to traffic.
Attractions included food, plants, books and crafts stalls, inflatables, games and an impressive display of vintage tractors and motor bikes.
Many children had fun with the face-painters, coloured hair spraying and tattooing. The not-so-young basked in the sun, enjoying the music or chatting with others around the Fair.
Food available included a lot of home made jams, pickles, tray bakes, cakes, tarts and scones. The hog roast and BBQ food were in great demand all afternoon.
A favourite attraction was the children’s Best Decorated Duck competition – for children aged 11 years and below. Over 400 ducks were displayed for judging by staff from the Ballygally Castle Hotel who sponsored the duck derby race. After this a hundred or more children headed off to the area surrounding the nearby river to watch their ducks race along the 150 metres course. With the dry weather, Ballyclare Fire & Rescue staff were on hand to give the ducks a ‘push start’ with water from a nearby hydrant. Around 6 minutes later and with about 5 metres to go to the finishing line, two ducks were neck-and-neck!
The giant inflatable slide was also popular, with queues throughout the afternoon. All proceeds from this and the other two inflatables were donated to the charity ‘CRY’ (Cardiac Risk in the Young). A total of £500.32 was raised. The owners of the vintage tractors and bikes raised a further £100 making a total donation of £600.32 for CRY. Other charities supported from Fair activities were Children’s Hospice and ‘Amara Aid’ who provide practical help to Tanzania.
The Mayor of Newtownabbey, Paula Bradley, judged the Primary School Fashion Show, which had been organised by the Methodist Church – where the final of weeks bowling tournament, involving over 60 entrants, was played at 6pm.
The variety of music ranging from Old Time Gospel favourites, ballads, easy listening, classical, accordion and Silver Band pieces helped greatly in providing a carnival atmosphere. Throughout the afternoon approximately 1800 people made their way around the many attractions.
The Landlord of the local bar hosted the Dunk Tank and a Rodeo Bull Challenge, involving volunteers from the community, raising over £500 to fulfil his plan for a defibrillator to be made available in the village for local people to access in the event of helping treat a cardiac arrest.
During the evening the Annual Ballynure Open and Local Tug-of-War competition took place in the Ballynure Church of Ireland Rectory field. The winners, watched by over two hundred and fifty spectators, were the ‘Jackson’s Butchers’ team; a new name on the trophy.
On Sunday afternoon, the Fair weekend concluded with a Sunday Picnic Praise in the Park at 4pm in Ballynure Memorial Park. Over 125 people relaxed on their deck chairs and rugs to listen to music and a short service presided over by the three local village ministers. The praise was led by a group from Ballyclare and the local Primary School choir provided singing before all enjoyed their Picnic after the service.
Overall, the Village Fair – sponsored by Newtownabbey Borough Council and all the local business in Ballynure – engendered a greater sense of community spirit and awareness.
Ken Armstrong
With thanks to Newtownabbey Borough Council for providing a grant which allowed for the hire of the three children’s inflatable attractions from which funds were raised and donated to CRY.