Culture and Community
Barnstaple Fair begins on the Wednesday before 20 September each year and is of ancient origin. The ceremonial opening of the fair survives from ancient times and commences with a meeting of the town council in the Guildhall, where various formal toasts are drunk in a spiced ale which according to tradition is made from a secret recipe handed on from generation to generation. Whilst the toasts are being drunk, a form of sweetmeat known as "fairings" are handed around. At 12 o'clock a civic procession forms at the entrance to the Guildhall and the proclamation is read, at the start of which a large stuffed gloved hand garlanded with flowers, representing the hand of friendship and welcome to the visitors, is hung out of a window of the Guildhall. Today the fair consists of rides and amusements located in the car park of the leisure centre.
Barnstaple is twinned with Barnstable, Massachusetts in the USA, Uelzen in Germany, Trouville-sur-Mer in France, and Susa in Italy.
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