For the second time in three weekends, the weather has thwarted the organisers of the Brighton Winter Fayre.
Last night they said: “The Brighton Winter Fayre regretfully announces an early closure due to Met Office predictions of high winds this weekend.
“Originally scheduled to be open on Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 11pm, the site on St Peter’s Square, will now remain closed for the rest of the weekend.”
The organisers said: “Having had a fantastic few days of magical entertainment and memories made, from an intimate evening with David Gedge, to Barrioke’s Christmas Hits, and the Quiffiest of Bingos to the wonder of creative workshops, we are sadly unable to complete our programme of events.
“Our sincere thanks go to our fantastic staff and volunteers and the amazing support received from our stakeholders.
“A special thanks is extended to the wonderful people of Brighton who visited us in their thousands and showed the true spirit of the festive season.
“We’re very sad to be shutting our doors earlier than planned but we hope everyone understands that safety comes first.”
The Winter Fayre added: “Although the organisers have worked hard to find alternative venues for the shows, they have not been successful at such short notice.
“All ticket holders will be contacted directly and refunded over the coming days.”
Honestly, I went to two evening events and they were both poorly attended and the fayre was underwhelming. That said the food options were impressive if you like sausages and the marshmallow fire was great. The bar was fine, but the lager was not. Fundamentally it just didn’t attract enough people and that was its downfall.
This is really sad news. I went to the opening on Thursday 5th Dec and the Makers Market on Sunday 15th Dec and both were fantastic and well attended by a diverse crowd of people. I bought some great and unusual Christmas gift from local crafts people, roasted my own marshmallows over an open fire and indulged in very reasonable priced (for a festival) drinks at the bar. Compared to previous Christmas Markets, this year’s ‘Winter Fayre’ was a breath of fresh air. I truly hope the organisers can suffer the losses and come back again. Bl**dy weather!
To be honest I think it was a disaster in the making from day one. The huge fences just blocked everything out and no one could see in. To me it resembled some cheap, travelling summer fare.
Also why call it a winter fayre. It was a fayre for Christmas so why not call it that.
Complete waste of space that could have been put to a much better use!
Personally I don’t buy the ‘high winds’ excuse. I think it is more likely it was failing and they decided to pull the plug. The weather was a respectable excuse for the fact there’s only so many overpriced wooden toys a non-Scandanvian child will engage with. Christmas markets were exciting when they were first came along but that was a couple of decades ago now.
Lousy event from start to premature finish. This city deserves better. Bit like the Christmas lights in North St that don’t work.