ANNUAL HARWELL FEAST GETS A HELPING HAND FROM TAYLOR WIMPEY
The Harwell Feast, which has taken place in the village for more than a hundred years, was a huge success again this year thanks to a generous donation from leading local housebuilder Taylor Wimpey Oxfordshire.
The developer, which is preparing to launch high-quality new homes at Alder View on the outskirts of the village, helped to feed the fun at the Feast by donating £500 towards the costs of a Viking re-enactment at the event, which took place on Monday 30th May.
Gareth Buxton, chair of the Harwell Feast Committee, says: “This event has been running almost every year for around one hundred years, with just the odd lull here and there.
“The event takes place throughout the village and this year featured a parade with 10 floats, which were all created by local voluntary groups, such as the Scouts and the Women’s Institute, as well as a classic car show and Abingdon Brass Band.
“On the recreation ground, where the parade came to an end, there were over 70 stalls, some fairground attractions, a falconry display and two marquees for local entertainment acts.
“Taylor Wimpey’s donation paid for half the cost of the Vikings re-enactment that featured in the parade and consisted of approximately 30 to 50 warriors. The Vikings also had a camp set up for a living history act, while they performed battle scenes and demonstrated how Viking equipment was used.
“The Feast is a fantastic way of getting people together and helping to support the local community. By charging a small entry fee we’re able to raise funds to donate to various organisations and groups in the village.
“We’re very appreciative of Taylor Wimpey’s donation, and with a lot of building going on in the area it’s important to host events like the Feast and give people new to the area the opportunity to take an active part in the local community. That’s something we, the Feast Committee, are keen to promote and we regularly host events in Harwell.
“The community really enjoyed the event so it was very important to receive this support as without donations like this we would struggle to host the event every year.
“All of the people involved in organising the Feast were volunteers and it costs in the region of £12,000 to host the event. The entire community really came together to make it a reality, with local farmers letting us borrow their tractors and hay bales while we lent the marquees to other community groups free of charge in the lead up to the Feast.”
Nikki Gibson, Sales and Marketing Director for Taylor Wimpey Oxfordshire, says: “It’s extremely important to invest in the communities where we build our homes, so we were delighted to lend our support to the long-running Harwell Feast.
“This event has done a fantastic job of bringing everyone in the village together for many years, so we were proud to play a part.”