Clare Castle Country Park , halfway between Haverhill and Sudbury, hosted a successful first ever community information fair

Visitors to Clare Castle Country Park were greeted by a sea of stallholders when it staged its first ever Community Information Fair.

The 42 stallholders that took part in the event on Wednesday last week represented a wide range of organisations, groups, clubs and charities that operate in Clare.

The new event was the brainchild of one of the trustees from the Clare Castle Country Park Trust.

Julia Burge, the trust’s administrator, said: “She wanted to do something that would engage lots of different ages, so we had Years 7 and 8 from the school as well and we made sure we had lots of things to appeal to that age group.”

The schoolchildren, said Julia,were partiularly impressed by the Bounce class, which uses trampolines to exercise.

The fair also provided a surprise hit, provided by the Clare Walkers, in the form of a game in which participants were invited to throw a rolled up walking sock into a bucket, just to test their aim.

Most of the groups taking part are based in Clare, but others fulfil a need for things that are not in the town, such as the WEA (Workers Educational Association), Boomerangs Pet Foodbank and Haverhill charity REACH Community Projects.

A strong focus, added Julia, was also given to health and wellbeing, with various providers of exercise classes taking part.

Of the event, which was supported by a grant from Clare Town Council, Julia said: “I think it shows just how much there is going on locally.

“It’s amazing the breadth of community activities that are going on for people.”

The event is likely, said Julia, to return next year.