May Fair 2022
Terry Dinan photo
Thousands of New Canaanites made their way to the St. Mark’s Episcopal Church green on Friday night and Saturday for the return of May Fair. Held May 6 and 7 amid on-and-off rain, the May Fair returned this year for the first time since 2019.
Here’s a statement on May Fair after the event, from co-chair George Wright:
“In spite of cold, wet and windy weather, more than 2,000 teenagers thronged the May Fair Great Lawn Friday night to enjoy the rides and games. Joined by a thousand other fair goers, everyone had the opportunity to enjoy the famous homemade strawberry shortcake and food court mainstays like Holy Smoker pulled pork and beef brisket, hamburgers, hot dogs and Joe’s pizza.
“And on Saturday thousands more did the same and also streamed steadily through the massive 6,000 square foot May Fair white elephant in Morrill Hall, the 15,000 volume book sale in the church itself, not to mention the toy, plant and outdoor/sports gear tents with more than a thousand other items offered for sale. Pony rides returned for the first time in almost 10 years and were a huge hit with the young riders, their parents and grandparents alike.
“After a 2-year hiatus due to Covid-19 the St. Mark’s 2022 May Fair once again brought nearly 300 church parishioners and other community volunteers together to stage the largest New Canaan community gathering since the July 2019 Family Fourth celebration and raised much needed net proceeds for St. Mark’s outreach missions throughout New Canaan and the broader community.”
Dear New Canaanite readers,
In an effort to provide a brief summary of this weekend’s 73rd annual May Fair on short notice (and in a state well beyond “completely worn out”) my statement, which Mike published verbatim, fell well short in at least one obvious way. So please let me add the following, which should have been my opening comment.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” to the thousands of people from near and far who came to May Fair to enjoy the rides and food and white elephant sale. We are grateful beyond words for your support. Without patrons no event is successful, especially a fundraiser. We hope you got as much joy from your experience at May Fair as we did in coming together to make it all happen. That it was a particularly arduous task this year only made it more worthwhile. The heart of May Fair is fellowship and the building up of community in every possible sense and without community support there would be no May Fair.
And that community support comes not just from the people who attend but from all corners of our wonderful town. There is no May Fair without the staunch support of town officials and the men and women of New Canaan’s many town departments and volunteer organizations who help assure the smooth operation, safety and well being of everyone involved. There is no May Fair without our dedicated sponsors and supplier partners, who this year more than ever scrambled to provide the tents, tables, chairs, grills, food, sanitary facilities and so much more. And there is no May Fair without the unstinting support of the legions of volunteers from our community service partners.
THANK YOU ALL!
Thank you, George Wright, and thanks to your May Fair co-chair David Shea. We in the community appreciate all of the hard work you both devoted to making this year’s May Fair such a success.