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STOKE RECORD FAIR
Our very first Fair was in 1977 at the old YMCA building in Hanley. We then ran Fairs alternatively at Burslem Leisure Centre on a Saturday and the YMCA on a Sunday. When the Leisure Centre closed we moved all Fairs to Hanley. Two years ago the YMCA underwent a major restructuring, which involved the tables disappearing and not being replaced. We moved for a short while to the now closed Tunstall Community Centre but are now well settled at the Cobridge Community Centre.
Cobridge Community Centre is midway between Hanley and Burslem just off the main Waterloo Road. The venue is ground floor and loading from the road to the large hall is just a few metres. There are no steps or kerbs and loading is totally flat.The hall is open from just after 8am for dealers to set up. Coffee and tea are available for dealers at 30p a cup. Parking on site is free. Generally we have between 20 and 25 tables with a 70% vinyl and 30% CD mix. All genres of music go well - ranging from classical to metal. Stoke is one of the few Fairs in the country that has such an eclectic mix.
The Fair runs 9 times a year on the last Sunday of the month except for July, August and December and public entry is 50p between 10am and 4pm. Normally we get a good crowd of regular customers through the door and dealers return to us time and time. RECORD COLLECTOR MAGAZINE have featured us twice and we have been recognised by them as the friendliest Fair in the country.
The May Fair was exceptionally good with many dealers reporting sales of well over £300 - one dealer ending up with £998 sales! Lots of record collectionms were brought in as well. June Fair-the last one for several months-will have some new stallholders as well. New dealers are ALWAYS welcome.
Stall costs are £23 for one table and £45 for a double. We have plenty of space between tables and have no objections to some boxes being put on the floor under tables. The only rule is that all tables must be covered with a cloth to avoid marking the table tops.
2008 dates are the last Sunday of each month except July, August and December.
BURTON-on-TRENT
We hold this Fair at the Meadowside Leisure Centre in the High Street. This is our only non-ground floor Fair but there is immediate access to the room from a lift. There are special trolleys that fit into the lift and it is possibley to unload an estate car in only two trips using them. Burton serves a good catchment area and generally dealers have good sales from regular, keen collectors. There is a restaurant and bar on site as well as plenty of car park space. There is a charge for car parking but dealers are given a free day pass to display. Stalls £20
We have had to postpone future dates here for the remainder of the year - back in 2009.
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