Date: 23/10/2009
Buxton's historic Pavilion Gardens welcomed thousands of customers to the 8th annual Great Peak District Fair last weekend (17-18 October).
Nestled within the historical architecture of the Grade II listed building, the 94 exhibitors showcased produce from the Peak District, and visitors were able to experience the very best in foods, arts and crafts.
The event was supported and opened on Saturday (17 October) by Colin Sykes, BBC Northwest presenter, and Tony Kemp, Executive Councillor for Regeneration at High Peak Borough Council.
New to the fair, the first Buxton Beer Festival and Real Ale Trail went down a treat, which was also the case with the ale itself! Situated on the promenade at Pavilion Gardens, the beer tent sold a staggering 730 pints over the two days, with customers able to sample from a range of 11 real cask ales - all sourced from in or near to the Peak District.
Visitor numbers increased by more than 2,000 compared to last year's event and income rose by 43.4 per cent over the weekend versus 2008. Encouragingly, this performance is in keeping with the very pleasing trends in the year to date and helps to reduce the net cost of the Gardens to the taxpayer.
Councillor Kemp paid tribute to staff and management at the Pavilion Gardens: "This is only the second time that the Great Peak District Fair has been organised solely by our in-house team and I want to compliment them on the brilliant job they did this year. Not only were there a lot of people attending but everyone seemed to be having a really good time - the atmosphere was great and this is very much down to the staff themselves. I spoke with many of the stallholders who said they were overwhelmed and very pleased with the custom, and were looking forward to next year.
"The staff are now focused very firmly on planning next year's event which we expect to coincide with the opening of the new Pavilion Arts Centre that the council is developing in partnership with Buxton Opera House. This exciting project will restore the rather tired and dated Paxton Suite to the glory of the old Buxton Playhouse, also once known as the Hippodrome, but with modern facilities to provide a state-of-the-art performance, conference and event space. With yet another new feature at the gardens, next year's fair promises to be better yet!"
For more information, visit www.paviliongardens.co.uk or call (01298) 23114. Information is also available from Terry Crawford, the council's head of visitor services, on 0845 129 77 77/01298 28400 or by e-mail at terry.crawford@highpeak.gov.uk