I was talking to a colleague about the whole trend for back-to-basics, good-clean-fun, simple, rural, old-fashioned-values entertainment and events that seems to have gained momentum recently – best embodied by the Innocent Village Fete.
He made the very good point that its all very well for Urbanites to be thrilled to rediscover the joys of Morris Dancing, Cream Teas and Coconut Shies, but many of those people who actually live in and engage with rural communities have been quietly enjoying these delights ever since they were, well, children and are a bit over them without the benefit of a few decades of rose-tinted absence.
Which means that organisations who try and jump on the brandwagon of Ye Olde English Rural Nostalgia could actually be alienating a large chunk of their target audience.
So – if the rural community is ‘over them’ why are we being asked for more bookings at rural fetes than ever, so much so that we have closed our books until next year?
Mac
Uttoxeter Heart of Oak Morris