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The innocent Village Fete

 

The Brief:

Innocent briefed Sledge to develop and produce a groundbreaking new theme: ‘The Innocent Village Fete’. The parameters of the project were to produce a multi-faceted fete-themed event which would essentially bring a little piece of country to the city. The event had to cater for the new target family audience with a capacity of up to 30,000 attendees per day.

The Solution:

We divided the event site into zones: the Village Green, the Sustainability Zone, the Farmers’ Market, the Wellbeing Zone, the Kids’ Area and the music stages. In order to meet the event’s financial requirements and to create the quaint village effect required, we mixed larger brand partners with genuine fete content within each zone.

Working with Borough Market, we organised a large farmers’ market, and then filled the rest of the site with an array of delicious, organic homemade foods to cater for the more discerning demographic the event attracted. Traditional fete activities took place in and around the village green. These quirky activities included duck herding, ferret racing, Morris dancing and of course, dog agility.

Still wanting music to play a part in the fete, we decided to break up the stages into two big tops and two bandstands, which we programmed with country and folk music. This allowed us to add a more contemporary feel to the weekend with acts such as Ben Westbeach, Seth Lakeman and Jack Savoretti providing entertainment for the guests who where more familiar with the event’s predecessor, Fruitstock.

The Results:

The event was a huge success that delivered a truly authentic ‘traditional village fete’ in the heart of London. The event sold out on both days by 3pm and attracted a capacity crowd of 60,000. Feedback from all partners, Innocent drinks, the Royal Parks and most importantly the general public has been overwhelmingly positive.