Egremont Crab Fair is the biggest event in the town. It isn’t a stretch to call it iconic. It’s infamous, the Gurning is international and it’s a highlight of the calendar for many in the town.
The fair has been running since 1267. That’s a lot of history and a lot of meaning for a town like ours.
But the fair doesn’t happen without the support of the community. The town and surrounding villages are always brilliant at turning out for the Fair and our fundraising events, but we need more than that.
We need your help.
My Crab Fair journey
Like all school children at Wyndham in Egremont, my overriding memory is of the excitement when the fairground arrived in town. This annual milestone was celebrated wildly, and excitement for the Fair only increased as the week went on.
It was only really as I got older that I realised that the fairground was just one part of the event, and one largely out of the hands of the organisers.
Other memories from those early days include sitting on my dad’s shoulders watching the Gurning. Whether they’re real or imagined memories, I can picture this being on the then waste ground outside Egremont Co-op and at Bleach Green.
I can also remember watching a stunt display on the Crab Fair Field.
My more recent memories are of the Main Street on a Friday evening to watch the bands on offer.
Getting more involved
In late 2022, I remember seeing an advert calling out for more people to join the Crab Fair Committee. I considered this, and then the moment passed.
A few months later, a work colleague asked if I would be willing to get involved to support with their communications efforts.
Three fairs later, and I am both the communications officer and the secretary to the Egremont Crab Fair committee.
Those titles perhaps sound more grand than the reality. I tend to write our social media posts, produce the programme and take the minutes at meetings.
They’re they things I do in those roles. But, just as importantly, I am also another pair of hands. I help ensure the Fair is ready to go, runs smoothly, and is tidied up quickly.
In practical terms, this means things like:
- Helping organise events like our duck race
- Stewarding sports events
- Tidying the street and the field after any events
- Making sure people know what is going on – by being a smiling face in high-vis!
I’ve even written funding bids, spoken on the radio, featured in a TV documentary and went live with the brilliant Cumbria Guide on their socials.
The challenge
The Crab Fair faces a number of challenges, some of which are interlinked. These include:
- Fewer funding sources being available
- Increasing costs, especially in recent years
- An ever decreasing number of committee members
- The weather
The top three listed there are all linked. The increase in costs is a challenge when we know there are fewer sources of funding than in the post. And the reduction in committee members over time, means that there are fewer people to try and raise alternative sources of funding.
And the bottom of these, just makes things worse.
The weather for the 2025 Fair was awful. This hit our two biggest sources of income – people paying to enter the field and Crab Fest, and therefore people spending money at the bar.
In the three years I’ve been involved, we have had a year with one awful day’s weather and one good day, a perfect weekend, and an awful weekend.
Sadly, when we have an awful year, with awful weather on the Saturday, we are going to struggle.
How you can help
Over the last few years, we’ve really tried to get more committee members, and have had some new members (like me) join the committee.
However, we recognise that this is too big a commitment for some people, and that attending a meeting each month might not be appealing.
So we’re now looking for people who might wish to support us, without as much commitment. There are lots of ways people could do this:
- Organising a fundraising event (or even events, plural)
- Promoting fundraising events (by creating posters or putting them up)
- Coming to occasional meetings to offer ideas or suggestions on how we can improve
- Organising a specific part of the Fair weekend
If you do want to get involved in the committee, either as a one-off, or each month, then why not come to our next meeting?
They take place on the first Tuesday of the month, at 7:15pm in Egremont La’al (Catholic) Club.
The next one is Tuesday 4 November 2025.
Keeping things going
All of the committee are committed to keeping Egremont Crab Fair going. We’re proud to be involved and understand the event’s importance to the town.
We all want to run the best event possible with the funding we have, and that’s what we’ll do.
If we have less funding then we will just be more creative about what we offer and how we do it.
Other ways to help
We’ve relaunched our GoFundMe campaign so people who want to donate a few quid to support the Fair can easily do so.
The only man in the room 