Faversham Festival of Transport 16th and 17th May
Kent CRP had a fantastic time with a pop-up stand at the Faversham Festival of Transport. It was a busy weekend, spanning Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th May, with the Faversham streets filled with inspiring vintage vehicles.
A change of venue saw us join model railway exhibitions in the Assembly Rooms, with a constant flow of visitors interested in finding out more about our community activities and places to visit on Days Out By Rail.
On our stand we had a tremendous pop-up crew, with Dominic Noades, Linda Brinklow, Jonathan Fryer and Chris Fribbins working alongside Gary Outram, Project Officer.
Across the two days, the Assembly Rooms saw hundreds of visitors. Our team of volunteers shared useful travel information from Southeastern, updates from the Sheppey Light Railway Greenway Project, walking and cycling maps for Sheppey, Sittingbourne and Faversham, and most importantly details of the upcoming Fesitval of Sheppey and places to visit by rail in Swale.
Over 300 stickers and 400 colouring sheets were given out to children, helping to build their interest in the railway. Over 160 people left with tote bags alongside more than 200 pens, displaying our brand across the town and providing a reminder of our website to those inquisitive to find out more in the coming weeks and months.
The Faversham Festival of Transport provides our volunteers with an opportunity to share the joy they have found in Community Rail and the things for people to see and do along the Swale Rail Line.
Dominic Noades, volunteer Chair of our Swale Rail Line said, “I value the important conversations we have with people at the Faversham Festival of Transport, and the opportunity it gives us to promote Community Rail and Days Out By Rail. I believe it creates an enjoyable event for us volunteers, I always have a positive outlook after the weekend.
We saw many more people at this venue than I recall in previous years at the Guildhall. We had many significant conversations with the public about railcards and many brief conversations sharing other information.”
Jonathan Fryar, volunteer Deputy Chair of our Swale Rail Line added, “It was an excellent opportunity to engage with so many people. The new venue was ideal for our purpose and all went as hoped. I gave advice about rail travel and suggested ideas for Days Out By Rail trips in Kent.
Hundreds visited our display. Children loved the stickers and the tote bags were popular. It was a really good event.”
All in all it was a fantastic weekend celebrating transport which we were grateful to be involved in. We’d like to say a big thank you to Faversham Town Council for organising the weekend, our volunteers and all the lovely people we spoke to.
