East Anglian Game & Country Fair in Suffolk toasts 20th year with host of spectacles

When Tracey Grand presides over the East Anglian Game and Country Fair this weekend (April 27 and 28) it will be her 20th year in charge.

During her first in April 2004, she was pregnant with son Sam, now 19. He and his sister Alexandra, 17, now help out at the show.

"Sam gets great roadside board locations through his farming contacts and helps with signs. Daughter Alex helps with admin and tells me how I could be doing things more productively," she explains.

It takes a six-figure sum to stage the event on the Euston Estate every year - and with costs rising, Tracey has kept a careful watch on every penny to make sure it is well spent.

After she was faced with an eye-watering £3k rise in the cost of installing a bridge over the river last year and a further rise this year she found a company local to her in Norfolk able to come in at a much more reasonable price.

Skilled labour shortages in key areas such as riggers have left her with some headaches but she has powered through the challenges as they present themselves.

The cost of marquee hire and equipment - along with higher labour costs - have hit event organisers across the piece making it ever harder to stage shows of any size.

That's without taking account of the weather - which is always a big factor when holding an outdoor event.

But Tracey is an old hand. She began the venture with ex-husband Andrew - who parted from the business in December 2022 to pursue other avenues.

They started out in a spare room of their house in Long Stratton. They worked hard and grew the event - it now has more than 300 exhibitors compared to around 100 in its first year - and there are huge waiting lists for categories such as catering.

"What we have noticed is quite a lot of exhibitors are going over to having a small stand in a large marquee," she says.

"A major change is exhibitors no longer want to put up their own marquee because marquee hire has gone up significantly."

Today the show welcomes world-class attractions and has become an important fixture in the region's event calendar - a welcome bridge between country events held at Easter and then the summer.

The show started life at the Norfolk showground but when it no longer fitted with the site's commercial plans, Tracey and Andrew cast about for a new site. So in 2017 the show moved to the Euston Estate and has remained there ever since.

"We found lots of other sites and thought Euston was a wonderful site. We thought it was a really good catchment area," says Tracey.

"It's actually been for the good of the show having this wonderful country location. We have got the river running through - it's a really stunning location."

The estate - owned by the Duke & Duchess of Grafton - is hugely supportive. But being a country location with fewer facilities, costs are higher as temporary toilets, showers and other facilities all have to be brought in.

The two-day event still attracts around 10,000 visitors over the two days. These come to visit stands, take in events in the main arena, and enjoy a leisurely refuelling in the food hall, members' marquee and bar.

Tracey, 49, comes from a farming family in Norfolk. When not organising the show, she helps dad, Trevor Key, 79, with book-keeping and other tasks while her brother farms.

In her events business, she is supported by event manager Kate Jones and her predecessor Didi Fenwick who continues to lend a hand during show time.

In addition, she takes on external contractors during the set-up period and hires security and other contractors over the show days.

Main Arena displays confirmed for this year’s show include  stunt team The Squibb Freestyle Motocross Show.

The Dog and Duck Show returns, along with the Horseboarding UK Championships which will be filmed and broadcast live from the arena

Waveney and Norfolk Harriers will be presenting a new spectacle for 2024 - the ‘White Woofers’ hound parade.

Other highlights include the British Scurry and Trials Driving Championships, Lowestoft Dog Agility Display Team, Gun Dog displays, Fishing demonstrations with World Champion Fly Caster Hywel Morgan, the Sheep Show and traditional ferreting demonstrations with Simon Whitehead.

A 'have a go' area will be inviting visitors to have a try at a range of country activities including clay shooting with John Bidwell’s High Lodge instructors, archery, axe throwing and air rifling shooting - as well as fly fishing and coarse fishing on the Black Bourn River.

The 350 shopping stands feature everything from fashion and footwear to gun makers and fishing products.

Children’s activities include pony rides and a traditional fun fair.

The show's charity this year is the Country Food Trust which provides meals to people in need through a food bank initiative.

Charity ambassador the Duke of Grafton said he was thrilled the fair was supporting the trust.

"They do a remarkable job of utilising meat from estates to create nutritious, protein-rich meals for individuals facing food insecurity throughout the country," he said.

For more information, visit www.ukgamefair.co.uk