Fun at the fair

It’s an iconic event that brings all aspects of the community together. Fair Day will launch the Mardi Gras season on February 21.

“It’s our biggest community event in that it probably has more community members present than even the Parade,” New Mardi Gras CEO Michael Rolik said.

“A lot of Fair Day will be familiar from previous years, however, we are working hard to give the event more colour throughout the park.”

Held at Victoria Park, New Mardi Gras is expecting up to 70,000 festival attendees. The Gourmet Food Zone will be back as well as a revamped dog show and a new chill-out bar area. There will also be full STI checks available.

Fair Day will once again make room for the Sports Village. Twenty-four sporting groups have already registered, and numbers are expected to increase.

The Sports Village is something Team Sydney has been building on for the past five years.

“Team Sydney clubs have attended Fair Days for many years but until five years ago they were dispersed throughout the festival site. Five years ago someone had the vision to bring them all together in one place and thus the Sports Village was born,” Team Sydney Sports Village coordinator Doug Sinclair said.

“Since then it has continued to grow each year and at present we have 24 clubs confirmed plus others have indicated they will participate.”

The Sports Village is vital for groups to gain additional members through exposure to the wider audience and on-site demonstrations.

Sinclair said it’s also important to have a presence at Fair Day to focus attention on a healthy lifestyle and opportunities to find groups where participation in a sport can lead to meeting new people.

“It gives a chance to see how many others are involved as members, to discuss the differences between our various sports, how we manage our clubs and a chance to consider invites to cross-train or add another sport to an individual’s portfolio,” he said.

The annual Team Sydney tug-of-war will take place in the Village. Make sure you register your interest.

The Fair Day after-party will kick off at the Bank Hotel at 3pm with Sydney’s top DJs.

info:  Fair Day will be held on Sunday, Feb 21, at Victoria Park, Camperdown, at 10am. To take part in the Team Sydney tug-of-war, call 0411 066 485 or email [email protected]  For more on Fair Day visit www.mardigras.org.au