THE weather couldn’t have been better as residents gathered at the local recreation ground to celebrate the beauty of their village.

Despite the odd bit of nippy wind, the sun shone brightly on South Wonston, seeing nearly the whole village gather for a spot of ice-cream, afternoon tea and even abseiling.

The rock-climbing frame was new this year, as were a number of other stalls – 40 in all – selling an array of handmade crafts, bric-a-brac, plants, books and the ever-popular homemade fudge.

Morris dancers entertained the crowds as they jingled and jangled, while others took part in a goal tournament.

There was also archery, inflatable gladiator-themed fun, and a number of food and drink stalls.

The evening saw live music from The Mini Band and Sweet Music, which was accompanied by a bar and barbecue.

Organisers for this year’s event were local residents Clare Knock, Alex Francis, Myk Sass, Emily Fairhead, Tim Gardener and Gary Brown.

“It all started about five years ago,” Mrs Knock said. “We stepped up to do it and we’ve been forced into doing it every year since! It was first run by the Parish Council but it then broke away into volunteers. The idea, years ago, was to have local businesses, the community and groups get together to celebrate that we live in a nice community and enjoy it really.

“We’ve got about 40 stalls this year, but it sets bigger every year. We try to cater for every age group; we didn’t want it just to be for children having fun.

“We just try and do as many things as we think are a good idea – maybe next year we’ll be even bigger!”