March Spring fair is cancelled as showmen put 'public welfare' first
There will be no fun at the fair in March this week as the annual spring fair is cancelled due to the coronavirus.
The fair which rolled into town at the weekend ready to open tonight (Thursday) until next weekend (29) will not be going ahead and the rides are being dismantled.
A spokesman for the Norwich and Eastern branch of the Showman's Guild said the town's fair was the latest in a long-line of casualties to the ongoing concerns over the Covid-19 outbreak.
She said; "We have a public duty of care so our members are making the difficult decision to close and fairs will be cancelled for the foreseeable future."
The spokesman said the decision is a major blow for members who as they are self-employed will be left struggling to make ends meet. She said operators will be packing up and taking their fairs back to their bases, which in the case of some of the local fairs can be as far afield as Manchester.
March is among a long list of fairs affected, the Peterborough one is also being packed up.
One or two of the showmen did suggest via Facebook that they may stay in town until the weekend ready two open their sweet and refreshment stalls.
The spokesman explained the members' season begins with the Mart at King's Lynn and continues right through to the autumn. Many of the larger events include the Easter fairs at Great Yarmouth and Norwich, which have been called off.
She said: "It is hard to know what is going to happen. Whether the fairs will be able to return to these places later in the year is unclear, but it is going to be a difficult time for our members, who face the cost of packing up and going home.
"I would also ask people to spare a thought for circuses who are in the same situation and many of them have artistes from all over the world. At the moment there doesn't appear to be any light at the end of the tunnel.
"The situation is as difficult for our members as it is for all those people who are self-employed and facing lock-down."
