Hood Faire (featuring the Laceys) 1978

Photos by Roy Perring ©

'The instigator of the Hood Faire, Saskia Thomas, moved to the Totnes area in the summer of 1976. Saskia had been part of the Friends Roadshow theatre group and had been touring all over Europe but her eldest daughter was 11 and she wanted to settle somewhere. By chance she met a teacher from Totnes in London at Kirkdale, a free school run on co-operative lines, and decided to visit the town on a wider tour of the south west. Within five minutes of arriving in Totnes she had decided that she wanted to stay in the area.

The inspiration for Hood Faire came from the Barsham Fair in Suffolk which Saskia had previously visited on several occasions, and which she had revisited with the Friends Roadshow in the summer of 1976. The medieval theme was a direct connection to Barsham....The first Hood Faire was held over the midsummer weekend on the 24-26^th July in 1977 in Hood Meadows, just outside Dartington. The midsummer timing was deliberate and gave the event a certain significance to people who celebrate seasonal festivals as is common amongst some of the new spiritualities'...The fairs ran in 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982 and 1985.

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