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Mauchline Holy Fair 
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Mauchline 'Queen's Diamond Jubilee' Holy Fair takes place
on Saturday 2nd June 2012 to co-incide with the Diamond
Jubilee Bank Holiday Weekend.
As usual 11am until 5pm
Over
70 stalls and superb entertainment and atmosphere in the
centre of Mauchline village.
Stop
Press - Headline Act now Booked is 'capercaillie'
Items Booked so far:-
Main
Stage
11am
Muirkirk Pipe Band
12
Mid Day Kirk James
1pm
The High School Musical Squad do Glee Part 1
New Image
Awaited In the Style of Glee Club
2pm
The Dukes of Uke
3pm
The High School Musical Squad do Glee Part 2
4pm
Capercaillie
Headlines.
In
the Church
12
Mid day Newmilns and Galston Champion Silver Band
1pm
Still to be arranged
2pm
Coreen Scott and Friends
3pm
Burns the Farmer
Ian
Lyell (below) and friends once again give their view of
one aspect of Robert Burns' life.
4
pm Billy Garven entertains on the Church Organ
In
the Church Halls
Main
Hall - Teas by the Bakery Box.
Dunlop
Hall - Scott Lovat, Magic Circle Magician.
On
the Bleaching Green
Circus
Workshop and Performances.
In
the Streets
Watch
out for the Screaming Preachers
_______________________________________________________________________
History and
Description
THE MAUCHLINE
BURNS CLUB'S ELEVENTH HOLY FAIR
Saturday 2 nd June 2012 from 11am
The
Mauchline Burns Club's Holy Fair has over the last ten
years become a showpiece for local talent in its music
and drama. The wide variety of stalls also displays a
wide range of local craft skills. These stalls now number
around 70, attracting participants from all around.
It
has been estimated that approximately 10,000 to 12,000
visitors are attracted to this remarkable event.
This
is very much to the profit of the village, not only financially,
but also by putting Mauchline to the forefront of the
Burns' world, a rightful position many of us have struggled
for over the years.
Burns,
in his poem The Holy Fair emphasised the attendance in
1786 was- ‘In droves that day.'
Fortunately
we are repeating that.
Let's
jump back in time, to 1786.
The
Kirk Burns worshipped in in Mauchline was a 17 th century
building which he described as —‘as ugly a lump of
consecrated stone as ever cumbered the earth.' The
interior was as bleak, with a floor several feet below
ground level due to subsidence. It was lit by six small
windows supplemented by a few candles. The sermon was
expected to last an hour and one passage of scripture
was expected to be examined over several weeks. One year,
eight verses of one psalm provided material for sermons
for the next 19 months.
The
Kirkyard was in as bad a state as the Kirk itself. The
Session records describe it as- ‘ a sort of dunghill,
a receptacle for all filthiness so that one can scarce
walk to Kirk with clean feet. Disorderly people break
the windows and break the tombs and deface the
engravings .' And it was in this Kirk and in these
grounds that the original Holy Fairs were held.
The
fair was actually an opportunity for people all round
Mauchline to take communion. Some Kirks held communion
irregularly, so hordes flocked to Mauchline on the second
Sunday in August for the service. The occasion lasted
3 days: Saturday for cleansing and preparation, Sunday
for the services, and Monday for reflection. It was also
a continuation of the Covenanters open-air conventicles.
In
1788, 1800 people took communion, 400 only being Mauchline
folk, but the Kirk could cope with only 200 at a time.
So the crowds had to mingle in the
Kirkyard for
hours
as they waited. Two elders stood at the gate opposite
Poosie Nansie's with the collection plate. Stalls like
Punch and Judy shows, offered pulpits to local preachers.
The communicants entered the Kirk in groups of 80 taking
15 or16 sessions to cater for the crowds.
Tents
supplied food and drink while various hucksters offered
other entertainment, and Racer Jess, Poosie Nansie's daughter,
plied her trade at the gate.
Did
Burns make all this up? Did he exaggerate?
Certainly
not.
A
1759 pamphlet, written as a complaint to the Scottish
Kirk authorities is a prose version of Burns' verses.
It concludes -‘in this sacred assembly there is an
odd mixture of religion, sleep, drinking, courtship, and
a confusion of sexes, ages, and characters.'
There
is an idyllic painting in the Burns House Museum of the
crowds. Everybody is behaving doucely, listening attentively
to the preachers. The only transgressor is an old fellow,
who has succumbed to the joys of 40 winks. But this idyllic
picture of an important religious celebration is far from
the truth. And it is thanks to Robert Burns that not only
does posterity have an accurate, realistic picture of
the event, but also as a result of the poem being printed
in his Kilmarnock Edition, the scurrilous, bawdy, scandalous
circumstances, were reformed by the Scottish Kirk.
But
back to today
which may be a bit of an anti- climax, but we do our best.
The
established dramatic opening of our modern Holy Fair at
11am is the lone piper on the Kirk tower, followed by
the skirl of the pipes from Muirkirk Pipe Band; and it
is all systems go.
This
year 70 stalls will again cater for all tastes and interests.
Most come every year, which results in a huge demand for
stalls and it is felt that the stalls make a considerable
contribution to the atmosphere, spread as they are through
the 18 th century lanes.
Some
years ago we expanded our sites to take in the large car
park with more stall space but particularly with fairground
attractions to cater for children and young folk. In 2012,
this area will take in the Main Stage to give more room
for visitors.
Another
source of constant amusement are our Screaming Preachers.
These two fine fellows unexpectedly pounce on visitors
and performers alike making sure that they are aware of
their sins.
Each
year on the Bleaching green we try to ring the changes.
This year, we have a circus tent with performers and circus
lessons for young people and we hope to again have an
Army Cadet Tug o' War competition.
The
variety of high class musical entertainment - and its
great range - is possibly the greatest attraction of what
is a tremendous free family day. With two venues- the
church and a professional outdoor stage, all tastes are
catered for. This year
in the Church we have the award winning Newmilns and Darvel
Silver Band, who have performed every year since we started
the event. Well-known singer Coreen Scott and her musicians
will entrance audiences with her melodic offering of Burns'
melodies.
Following
Coreen, comes our regular item from the Club's Honorary
President, Ian Lyell. This time it is entitled ‘Burns
the Farmer' and we will just have to wait and see which
characters and music Ian introduces into this. The Church
entertainment finishes up with Auchinleck organist Billy
Garven, giving us ‘his pleasure' on the magnificent Mauchline
Kirk organ.
The
Bakery Box will again provide teas in the large Church
Hall and Magician and Children's Entertainer, Scott Lovat
will entertain in another of the Church Halls. Also, in
honour
of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, it is hoped to stage an
exhibition of appropriate photographs from 50 years ago.
We
hope that the outdoor stage in it's new Loudoun Street
Car Park position will attract it's usual large crowd.
Here again the variety of music is tremendous. The Muirkirk
Pipe Band will start proceedings off there with the sound
of the pipes followed by the songs of Scottish Entertainer,
Kirk James, helping to create the right atmosphere as
they are heard all over the Holy Fair. Kirk will be followed
by the team who put on ‘High School Musical' last year.
This year their theme is GLEE and we are all looking forward
to their two fantastic performances. Coming this year
for the first time are ‘The Dukes of Uke.' This group
will bring the happy sound of ukeleles and banjos to the
Holy Fair.
After
that, will be our Headline Act, Capercaillie. We can think
of no one better to finish up the formal part of our day.
Please come to join in and also to help create the well
kent Holy Fair atmosphere. Mauchline Burns Club promises
you a happy and pleasant few hours in our village. Updates
are on our website and our Facebook page.
Ian
Lyell, Hon. President.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A Few 2011 Images 
This magnificent
Traction Engine and Fairground Organ were stars of the
show?
Some of the items already booked:-
JIVE EXPRESS ARE A SUPERB U.K-based mature six piece group
playing commercial rock & roll The band consists of
vocals, lead, rhythm, bass, saxophone and drums.
Pop Go The Movies:-
Pop Go The Movies!
Based
on the latest blockbuster hits from the stage and silver screen, this brilliant high-energy stage show recreates
the presence and drama of We Will Rock You, Grease,
Glee, Saturday Night Fever, Dream Girls, Mamma Mia, Slumdog
Millionaire, High School Musical, Chicago and Flashdance
, followed by a massive selection of hit songs by
artistes such as Girls Aloud, Take That, Amy Winehouse,
Westlife, Kylie, Robbie Williams and many more.
This
beautifully costumed, immaculately presented song and
dance show was perfect for Mauchline's Holy Fair.
Casing the Joint
Casing
the Joint:-
Two
sharp suited performers arrived with seven mysterious
flight cases.
Inside
each case was a new comedy adventure including:
·
An unforgettable
Tribute to “The Sound of Music”
·
Smashing
Plate Manipulation ,
·
A juggling version
of Hamlet
….
all set to live
music, lots of surprises and an endless stream of comic
banter!
In
short, “Casing the joint” was a hilarious, family friendly,
interactive musical/comedy magic show extravaganza!
Comedy
Clown/Magician
Serving
up a feast of hilarious capers including: juggling, magic,
hat tricks and mime, our mix and mingle magician improvised
a whole host of comedy routines with the public as he
worked his way around Mauchline's Holy Fair. With
his clown hat on he added balloon modelling, sight gags
and audience participation games to the above list. A definite crowd pleaser!
The
Rhythm Kings
Formed
from the cream of Scottish Dixieland Jazz musicians, The
Rhythm Kings have toured the UK and beyond, becoming popular
wherever they have performed.
Having
worked with Jazz favourites such as Kenny Ball and Acker
Bilk, the band has also recently appeared with the one
and only Dame Edna Everadge.
If
you love Jazz, you would love The Rhythm Kings.
Kirk
James:-
has been wowing audiences
all over Scotland and Northern Ireland for over 10 years
now with his superb Scottish Show.
His voice was heard all over the Holy Fair.
3
SIXTY Bicycle Stunt Team:-
Another
successful Mauchline Holy Fair
took place on Saturday 29th May 2010.
Mauchline Burns Club thanks everyone
who contributedin any way whatsoever to our 2010 success.
A Few 2010 Images
Below is Hugh Brown, our President
All
above Images Courtesy of Gavin Lyall
2010 Holy Fair Programme:- 
On
the
