SUNDAY’S Milland Rural Fair will be officially opened by actor Hugh Bonneville.
Best known for his starring roles in Paddington, W1A and Downton Abbey, he has just completed a run at Chichester Festival Theatre.
The actor will declare the fair officially open at noon, although the day’s programme will be in progress from when gates open to the public at 11am.
Milland will again welcome the thousands of visitors expected at the fair –?when it was last held two years ago it attracted around 3,000 people.
The rural fair provides a non-stop main ring event programme, a large number of woodland and rural craft demonstrations and lots of animals to meet and touch.
These include cows, goats, sheep, poultry, llamas, donkeys, miniature ponies, hound puppies, rabbits, ferrets, pets and our native reptiles and amphibians. There will also be many different animals in the Miller’s Ark Children’s Farm.
There will be a range of displays including: a vintage tractor parade, pony club mounted games, Hawkwalk’s birds of prey, gundog display by Reedland Retrievers – as seen on Downton Abbey –? beagles, horses through history, showing how horses were trained for combat in medieval times, terrier racing, ferret racing, Butser Roman IX Legion re-enactment, and the Mountain-bike Aerial Display (MAD) Stunt Team. Activities include the climbing wall, donkey rides, a carousel, bushcraft, remote-control cars and much more.
There will be a model railway layout in the hall and a display of vintage stationary engines in the car park. There will also be live music and craft stalls.
Dog owners are welcome to bring their dogs and join in the Milland Rural Fair fun dog show. Registrations for the dog show start at noon and the first class is at 1.30pm. There will also be a range of food and drink, including a beer tent, a Pimm’s bar, homemade cakes, ice cream and a cafe.
Entry is £7.50 per adult and £3.50 per child. A family ticket for two adults and two children under-16 costs £20.