A second major community event has been cancelled for 2026. The Rowledge Village Fayre has followed Hale Carnival in announcing that it will not run this summer and the reason is the same – lack of volunteers willing to get involved.

The Rowledge Fayre has been running for 40 years hopes to return for 2027, but only if more people step forward to help. Daisy Bennett, last year’s chair of the fayre committee, said: “We are a committee of 12 and a lot of us have young children so we don’t have much time. We suggested to the village that we had a “semi-fallow year’ with an event which would have involved a band, barbecue and bar, so we would have kept up the community spirit.

“That was not well received. We were told exactly what we should do instead, but those doing so did not then offer to help. So, we decided to cancel this year’s fayre and we hope to restart in 2027. It’s sad not to be holding it both for the community spirit it engendered and the money it raised. Last year we raised £23,000 of which £12,000 was profit and divided among local charities.”

Running a major community event involves work which, when concentrated in just a few hands, can be difficult to sustain. In the hope of spreading the load, the Rowledge organisers are holding meetings in the village pub The Hare and Hounds on the last Monday of each month and inviting everyone to come along.

Daisy said: “We are putting tog ether a list of jobs that need doing and hope that people will say: ‘I’ll do that’, and ‘I’ll take on that one’ so that it really will become a whole village effort.”

Ben Thomas, who took over as chair from Daisy Bennett, said: "We are dedicated and determined to get it up and running for 2027. I'm hoping that the lack of fayre this year might kick people into action to get involved in the future."

Other shows and carnivals are still taking place this year. Farnham Carnival has announced its return on Saturday, June 27, and The Bourne Show will be back on July 4 for its 99th year. Liz Jones, vice chair of The Bourne Show’s committee, said: “We have a strong committee but we always need new volunteers. And we have massive plans for our 100th year in 2027!”

Details of how to volunteer for any of the community events mentioned here can be found on the organisations’ websites.