In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and some of its former colonies, a fête or fete is a public

festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

organised to raise money for a charity, typically held outdoors. It generally includes entertainment and the sale of goods and refreshments. Fetes are typically held annually, in the summer months.

Village fêtes

Village fêtes are common in Britain. These are usually outdoor shows held on

village green A village green is a commons, common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common pasture, grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for ...

s or

recreation ground A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...

s with a variety of activities. They are organised by an ad hoc committee of volunteers from organisations like religious groups or residents' associations. Fêtes can also be seen in former British colonies. In

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, fêtes are often held yearly by schools and sometimes churches to raise funds. Attractions seen at village fêtes include tombolas,

raffle A raffle is a gambling competition in which people obtain numbered tickets, each of which has the chance of winning a prize. At a set time, the winners are drawn at random from a container holding a copy of each number. The drawn tickets are che ...

s, bowling for a pig, coconut shies, bat a rat stalls, white elephant stalls, cakes, and home produce such as jams and pickles. Competitive baking, such as making

Victoria sponge Sponge cake is a light cake made with egg whites, flour and sugar, sometimes leavened with baking powder. Some sponge cakes do not contain egg yolks, like angel food cake, but most do. Sponge cakes, leavened with beaten eggs, originated during t ...

cake, is part of the classic British fête. Filmed in bunting-draped marquees in scenic gardens, ''

The Great British Bake Off ''The Great British Bake Off'' (often abbreviated to ''Bake Off'' or ''GBBO'') is a British television baking competition, produced by Love Productions, in which a group of amateur bakers compete against each other in a series of rounds, atte ...

'' television series is inspired by the quintessential English village fête."The Great British Bake Off: it's like a village fete in your sitting room"
The Telegraph. Retrieved 25 February 2018 Entertainment at fêtes may include

Morris dancing Morris dancing is a form of English folk dance. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers in costume, usually wearing bell pads on their shins, their shoes or both. A band or single musi ...

tug of war Tug of war (also known as tug o' war, tug war, rope war, rope pulling, or tugging war) is a sport in which two teams compete by pulling on opposite ends of a rope, with the goal of bringing the rope a certain distance in one direction against ...

fancy dress A costume party (American English) or fancy dress party (other varieties of English) is a type of party, common in contemporary Anglo culture, in which many of the guests are dressed in costume, usually depicting a fictional or stock characte ...

, and pet shows. The fête itself is a variation of a

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Fairs showcase a wide range of go ...

Other types

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

and other English-speaking Caribbean territories, fêtes are huge parties held during the

Carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

season.

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Eliot House Eliot House is one of twelve undergraduate residential Houses at Harvard University. It is one of the seven original houses at the college. Opened in 1931, the house was named after Charles William Eliot, who served as president of the universi ...

uses the term to refer to its spring formal. The

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

celebration in

Bloomington, Minnesota Bloomington is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. It is located on the north bank of the Minnesota River above its confluence with the Mississippi River, south of downtown Minneapolis and just south of the Interstate 494/Inter ...

, traditionally held on 3 July, has been known as Summer Fete since 1978. In Australia, fêtes are typically held by primary schools and other not-for-profit organisations (e.g. the local Seniors' Club, church groups) as fundraisers.

Etymology

The English word ''fête'', pronounced or , is borrowed from the

Mediaeval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. It was also the administrative language in the former Roman Provinces of Mauretania, Numidia and Africa Proconsularis under the Vandals, ...

via the French , meaning "holiday" or "party".The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998). . p. 677 – "fête noun ''Brit.'' a public function, typically held outdoors and organised to raise funds for charity...". The 12th-century

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman Conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English pe ...

root ''fest-'' is shared with ''feast'', ''festive'', ''festal'' and ''festival'', ''festoon'', the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

, Portuguese , etc. and the proper name ''

Festus Festus may refer to: People Ancient world *Porcius Festus, Roman governor of Judea from approximately 58 to 62 AD *Sextus Pompeius Festus (later 2nd century), Roman grammarian *Festus (died 305), martyr along with Proculus of Pozzuoli *Festus (h ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fete Fairs

Village fêtes

Other types

Etymology

See also

References