An estimated 10,000 people visited the 8th Annual Reigate Community Festival at Priory Park on Saturday and managed to have a great time despite a massive rainstorm leaving the festival site looking a bit more like a mud soaked Glastonbury than the organisers would have wished.
The Shakespeare themed event was opened by the Mayor of Reigate and Banstead David Powell and featured a strongman contest, dog shows, live music, a funfair and a wide variety of food stalls. Susy Radio broadcast live from the showground for six hours with the Neil Munday Show being followed by a special edition of the Back of the Net sports show hosted by Ben Eltham.
Joe Sutton from Horley was declared Like2Lift’s Strongman Champion after a tough competition involving lifting heavy tyres, a car and some large concrete balls! Other events included beat the goalkeeper, hill boarding and archery trials.
In the middle of the afternoon a torrential downpour caused flooding and lead to the power on the main music stages to be switched off for a while but as the water receded the music started again and continued late into the evening. Although some stalls packed up a little bit earlier than planned most stayed open until early evening. Paula Edwards, Brand and Communications Manager of Morrisons solicitors, major sponsors of the Festival, carried on handing out goodie bags late into the afternoon and declared the event a great success.
Check out more photos of the Festival in our gallery here:
