After the drizzle stopped and the sun began to shine, crowds of excited people gathered in Bourton Park on Saturday 17th June 2023 for Celebrate Buckingham Day. After positive feedback was received by the Town Council, this was the third time the event was brought back.
Over 1000 people throughout the course of the day attended the event enjoying an array of family fun. Entertainment was provided by Buckingham Ukulele Group and CrazyHeart. The Town Council also arranged a free bouncy castle, bungee run and giant Jenga from Bouncy Macs. Pyxis Beauty by Becki Pontefract was also on hand to paint the faces of eager children. You could even lounge and take pictures in our giant deck chair!
Celebrate Buckingham Day was arranged to celebrate the range of voluntary organisations who are serving the town, and to enable local groups to raise funds and recruit volunteers and to bring residents together. The day also included the Buckingham Society’s annual Civic Day event and award-giving.
There was a plethora of delicious food and drink on offer from local vendors which gave residents plenty of reasons to stay and enjoy the day. Sizzlers Street Food provided traditional German sausages whilst We Will Wok You! had Asian-inspired rice pots and noodles. Good Times Café supplied the crowds with their very popular grilled cheese sandwiches and gourmet bakes. For people who fancied something sweet Jay’s Ice’s were on hand with lots of ice cream. Roman Way Brewery also attended with their mobile bar stocked full of cask ales, cider, gin and soft drinks.
Buckingham and District Angling Association held a maggot racing competition while the Buckingham Branch of Cancer UK helped whack the rat and the Buckingham Pantomime Group offered pantomime characters in stocks for children to throw wet sponges at. There were opportunities to try your hand at a game of quoits, various quizzes and treasure hunts. Families also got the chance to meet local doodle artist Rashmi, owner of Zen Seeta, and decorate one of the ten swan sculptures ready for the Swan Trail launch on Saturday 24th June 2023. There were 22 stalls in all, each of which was busy all day.
The Buckingham Society presented awards for Buckingham-focused projects, including heritage, design and community projects. The winners were Oakman Inns for the sensitive restoration and redevelopment of The Grand Junction, Mr & Mrs Reynolds for their exemplary restoration of a town centre cottage at 19 High Street, Morrison Development Consultancy for Alder House – a new and contemporary residential development in Verney Close, The Buckingham Town Council Grounds and Maintenance team for their sterling work in looking after the town’s parks and green spaces, The Crown are Group for Clarendon House – a new assisted care development in Cornwall’s Meadow, Smith & Clay for the sensitive development and enhancement of a fragile site as well as enhancing the range of retail services available in the town centre and The Mitre for the latest stage of the ongoing restoration and enhancement of Buckingham’s oldest public house.
Cllr. Anja Schaefer, Mayor of Buckingham said: “It was wonderful to see so many people on Bourton Park, enjoying the different stalls activities and the great food, and of course, the brilliant musical entertainment provided by the Buckingham Ukulele Group and CrazyHeart. Thank you to everybody who participated and helped make it happen”.
