Goudhurst Celebrates the Coronation

Creating Memories that Span the Generations

Goudhurst will celebrate the coronation of King Charles III with a series of family events and activities for all residents on the Village Green over the weekend of 5^th – 7th May 2023.

This is an ambitious project and we hope memories of the Coronation weekend will remain in the memory of our community for generations to come. The ‘Bash’ is a community event and it will need support from the community to make it a success.

This will be an inclusive event and we want it to be possible for all families to come along and enjoy the activities across the weekend.

What do we want from our community

The weekend will only be a success if the community gets behind and supports it.

If you have time, get involved in the organisation as individuals or as a group. We need people to help out before the event and particularly over the weekend – give an hour of your time and help make this a success for our community
For those who can – contribute by making a donation: Donate on the day, take a seat or a table for Friday’s Goudhurst Ball or sponsor one of our events
Turn up, bring your family enjoy the entertainment and help make the weekend memorable

There will be a large marquee on the Village Green which will host more formal events with other activities across the field.

Our weekend of activities will start with the ‘Goudhurst Ball’ on the evening of Friday 5th May. You can book tickets now.

Saturday the marquee will host ‘Saturday Morning Pictures’ for children of all ages before screening of the Coronation on a large screen. GADS (Goudhurst Amateur Dramatic Society) will be performing ‘Monarchy and Mischief’ and there will be a Kings and Queens competition followed by a children’s disco, The evening will host a barn dance for all the family followed by fireworks. Other activities will take place on the field through the day.

On Sunday the day begins with a yoga and fitness session in the marquee followed by the Junior Park Run which for one day will be open to all. The Market will set-up and will move onto a music from the Kilndown choir followed by ‘Goudhurst’s Got Talent’ an open mike session for those who are brave enough to take to the stage! Our celebrations will close with a ‘Tea Dance’ featuring ‘Marvellous Mo and the Back-Line Ferrets’ who will take us through on into the evening.

All events on Saturday and Sunday are free for residents

The Goudhurst Ball

The Goudhurst Ball is a ticketed event held in a large marquee on the Village Green on the evening of Friday 5th May. This will seated event for 250 people.

Not everyone can afford to contribute directly to making the weekend possible but for those who can the Goudhurst Ball is an important part of the fundraising activity that will contribute to delivering a memorable weekend of events and activities freely available to all in the Parish.

There will be round tables for 10 and tIckets are £20 per person. You can buy a table or individual tickets. We will then make up tables and introduce you to your fellow revellers. A big part of the evening will be the award of a prize for best decorated table. The theme of the decoration should be ‘royalty through the ages‘. Each table will be able to vote for three other tables as their favourites and the winner will be the one receiving most votes.

Children are welcome and we will provide additional chairs at tables and smaller children can sit on peoples laps. The objective of the evening is to fund-raise to support the weekends activities so our goal is to generate £200 per table.

There will be a a bar provided by the Goudhurst Club and Cellar Head will be brewing a Goudhurst Coronation Ale for you to sample and Anno Gin will provide something to go with your tonic.. There will be live music with a piano bar sponsored by FInchcocks to start the evening and then ‘The Bears’ will take us through to close. This is an ‘American Supper’ so you bring your own food to what will be the best picnic table in Goudhurst.

The Marquee will be open from 16:30 for you to decorate and set your table and we will formally start at 18:30 with carriages at 10:30.

Buy tickets for Goudhurst Parish Council

Saturday

Saturday begins with a series of events for children.

Saturday Morning Cinema

Before the screening of the Coronation we will be holding ‘Saturday Morning Cinema’. An activity familiar to an older generation but not something children today would know.

We will be showing the Lion King and to make the experience as authentic as possible we will also have popcorn and ice cream.

The Coronation will be shown live concluding around 1:30. There will be food stalls and refreshments available including a Hog Roast provided by Lower Ladysden Farm although you are welcome to bring your own picnic. There will also be other activities on the Village Green for children of all ages!

Our local suppliers are all involved. There will be a bar manned by provided The Goudhurst Club and will be open from 11:00 on both days. Cellar Head Brewery in Flimwell provided a special Goudhurst Coronation Ale flavoured with hops first discovered in Goudhurst. Anno Gin will provide the gin over the weekend., The Peacock and the Goudhurst Inn and Cellar Head in Flimwell are brewing a Goudhurst Coronation Ale especially for the event.

GADS (Goudhurst Amateur Dramatic Society) will then take a sideways look at the history of the crown and the lessons to be learned from history with ‘Majesty and Mischief’. There will be an exhibition from the History Society looking at Coronation celebrations in the past.

A 15:00 we will have a Kings and Queens Fancy Dress competition with prizes. This will be followed by a Junior DIsco

At 15:00 we will have a Kings and Queens Fancy Dress competition with prizes. This will be followed by a Junior DIsco

Barn Dance

The evening will begin at 18:00 with our Barn Dance which may have a smattering of line dancing as well. Dance-On from Tunbridge Wells are providing our caller and musicians. We will need to get everyone up to speed but don’t worry, nobody is good at this !!.

Entertainment continues into the evening with a Barn/Line Dancing that will get the whole family dancing.

Sunday

For those of you who are feeling up to it Sunday will begin with some health and fitness.

Coffee and pastries will be sold from 8:30. The marquee will be open with Pilates (bring a mat if you have one!). Junior Park run will begin at 9:30 – today it will be open to anyone so you can challenge your children (The Goudhurst Junior Parkrun is normally for four to fourteen year olds) to a race around the Glebe.. There will also be some first aid training in the marquee so, if you don’t know how to use the defibrillator in the village, now is the time to find out how it works.

From 10:30 there will be a chance to compete in a series of traditional games (skittles, Quoits, GIant Jenga etc. – bring your own games and show us how its done). There will be prizes for the winners every 30minutes!

There will be a market setting out its wares for the day with market stalls will begin setting up around the marquee. The Village Hall will provide a Barbecue on Sunday and other food vendors will also be on-site. The bar (run by Goudhurst Club) will be open from 11:00 on both days. Cellar Head Brewery in Flimwell provided a special Goudhurst Coronation Ale flavoured with hops first discovered in Goudhurst. Anno Gin will provide the gin over the weekend

The children’s activities on the field from the Saturday will continue.

The Kilndown Choir will sing in the Marquee from 12:00 with a selection of tunes for Sunday.

This will be followed by the Weald-of-Kent Morrismen who will dance at for us a 13:00.

Following that there will be an open-mike session for budding stars in and around the Parish to entertain the Parish. This could be singing, dancing comedy – whatever your talent. A sign-up form will be published shortly.

At 14:30 things take a different turn with a sing-a-long Mama Mia with words on the screen or in song sheets.

Where theatres in Manchester deplore the audience singing in Goudhurst we will be actively encouraging it.

Start Baking !!……For the Tea Dance

Goudhurst’s Bake-off gets under way at 16:00 with our Coron Coronation Cake Competition. Cakes are to be judged by Scott from the Star and Eagle

You can enter the competition or, if you don’t feel so competitive, then please just bake a cake and deliver it to the marquee because …….how can you have a Tea Dance without cake. Your cakes will be sold (whole or by the slice) to raise funds to cover the costs of the weekend. Winning cakes will be sold at a premium!!!!

We will end the afternoon and move into the evening with a ‘Tea Dance’ with Marvellous Mo and the Backline Ferrets!! Tea will be available and we can wind the weekend down in style.

Buy Ball Tickets

The Goudhurst Ball on Friday evening is a ticketed event.

The marquee will have around 25 tables available with 10 tickets on each table. Tickets are £20 and a table is £200. Friday is a fund-raising evening with ticket sales providing a proportion of the overall cost of running the weekends events.

There will be a bar on-site and we hope food vendors on the field allowing for a good take-away service.

We welcome children to the event and if these are seated on laps or seated on additional chairs (which will be available) they will not be charged. We would expect a table to be able to comfortably hold 14. Children though do bring additional work and parents/relatives will need to be responsible for their children at all times. A ‘lost child’ protocol will be in place.

Not a party of 10?

You do not have to be a party of 10 to attend. If you book individual tickets we will build tables of 10 for you and assign table numbers. We can be flexible in the allocation. Let us know what you need.

Now w