“Enjoy your rally,” said Cornwall’s funny man, Johnny Cowling, as he opened Sticker’s annual Country Fair and Sticker Vintage Rally on Friday night – and enjoy it we did!
Broadcasting live from this weekend’s event, CHAOS Radio, joined the crowds that rallied in their droves to support what’s become a celebrated annual community staple.
And while the official figures are still out, organisers believe this year’s event is set to become the best attended in the rally’s history.
Its success should hardly be a surprise. As well as one of the most impressive displays of vintage tractors, cars, and bikes, it’s also so much more – it’s a true celebration of everything Cornish.
From Kernow’s food and farming, to talented home-grown crafters and entertainers, from sheep dog trials, to the county’s cutest canines taking part in the fun dog show and from a local Ukulele group playing the Beach Boys, to a costumed Viking combat group displaying their moves – this three-day event has something for everyone.
Local farmer, Jen Sanders, attended the event to showcase her latest venture – a lovingly restored travelling trailer farm shop.
If you don’t know Jen, whose family has been farming in Polgooth for 63 years, you’ll likely have heard about her enormous 245 kilo pig, Doris, who resides in the village, by the Polgooth Inn.
While Jen’s travelling trailer may be tiny, its locally sourced produce is plentiful. From pork, beef and lamb, to milk, cream, and cheese, Jen’s only stocking Cornish produce and supporting 33 other local farming families in the process.
“I love being out and talking to people about farming and I’m very passionate about kids getting to know where the food comes from,” she told CHAOS Radio.
But her message, whoever she speaks to, is as clear as it is sobering: “Buy local. Support your local farmers or in a few years we’ll no longer be here.”
You’ll find Jen and her small but mighty travelling farm shop at Dairyland, weekday afternoons, throughout the summer holidays.
Just a stone’s throw away, CHAOS not only discovered one of the rally’s rarest cars – a British manufactured 1968 Austin Mini Moke – but got the opportunity to broadcast live from it, during its parade around the main ring.
“It’s one of only 11 left worldwide,” explained it’s owner, Peter Bradford, from Trewoon, who picked it up in a bad state back in 2021 and has slowly been restoring it to its original glory.
“The car was made popular by stars including Twiggy, Lulu and the Beatles, as well as being used in loads of movies but it lost favour when people realised how wet and cold the model is,” he continued.
Yet today, the rarity of the British manufactured Mini Moke gives it something of a ‘cult status’.
“It’s completely impractical too,” laughed Peter. “It’s got sides that go on but they do up from the outside. It means once you’re in, you need someone on the outside to zip it open and shut, so you can get out.”
Impractical it may be but with the sun shining, it was hard not to be wowed by the car’s iconic look or the fun it offers.
While there’s no doubt the event provided a jam-first-packed weekend, its benefit will continue to be long-felt, with proceeds this year benefiting three local charities; namely Children’s Hospice South West, Cornwall Air Ambulance and Cornwall Blood Bikes.
Kiley Pearce, events fundraiser for Children’s Hospice South West, said: “We’re so fortunate to be a beneficiary charity of this year’s rally. We must raise £12m per year to run our three hospices. We only get 10% in Government funding, so we simply couldn’t operate without the support of the local community.
“There are so many events and ways to help us fundraise throughout the year. While we’ve been here this weekend, for example, we’ve been chatting to people about our beautiful moonlight memory walk and already have 120 signed up.”
The Moonlight memory walk takes place at the Lost Gardens of Heligan on Saturday, 8th November. To secure your spot, visit Moonlight Memory Walk Cornwall 2024.
Meanwhile, you can find out more about the amazing work of the 78 volunteers who keep Cornwall’s 18 Blood Bikes running here.
Or, to discover more about the Air Ambulance’s vital work to bring a second lifesaving helicopter to Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, click here.
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