Browns’ School fete promises fun-filled day

IT’S that time of year again, for the fun and excitement of the annual Browns’ School Fete on Saturday, 3 September from 8.30am.

The fete is always held on the first Saturday of September and has become a traditional annual highlight on the calendar in the area. It promises to be lots of fun for the whole family, and a great opportunity for shopping for all sorts of lovely goodies. There’s also an amazing range of yummy food at reasonable prices.

According to Jane Noble, income development director at the Browns’ School, the first fete was held in 1954 and was run by a woman and eight of her friends, for the benefit of children with Cerebral Palsy.

“Not wanting to draw attention to herself, this woman, when approached by the press, asked just to be called “Mrs Brown”. Her friends then stated that they too were also “Mrs Browns”. This name stuck and is still being used today in the name of the school which began because of their efforts 64 years ago,” said Noble.

The event is run by the IDC Committee and an army of volunteers, including service clubs, parents as well as many past parents.

“A huge amount of effort goes into this event, which is run almost entirely by unpaid volunteers. These volunteers include parents, past parents, staff, pupils from other schools from Westville, Kloof and Hillcrest. All of the food is cooked by different service clubs from all across Durban, and most of the goods used or sold on the day have been donated,” said Noble.

She said all of the funds raised from this event will be used in the best interests of the school’s special children. These include children with cerebral palsy, specific learning disabilities, autism and other challenges, from the age of three up to 18 years. The school teaches up to Grade 7 academically, but the special and autistic classes continue with their individual programmes up to 18 years.

“The entertainment always includes something new and exciting and we will have all the favourites as well, such as the zorb balls, a giant slide, bungee trampolines, the rocket, paintball, a train, carousels, shooting games, the bottle bash, sumo wrestling and more,” said Noble.

All of the exciting stalls such as tombola, Farmer Browns’ Fresh Produce, plants, books, Second-Time-Around, arts and crafts, needlework, toys, and the famous strawberry bar will be available to peruse at this year’s event.

If anyone would like to donate goods, they are invited to take them to school during school hours. Please don’t take any used clothing or encyclopaedias, or unusable broken items, as the school will have to pay to dump these. If you are able to help out in any way, contact Jane Noble on 031 700 6065, during school hours or email idc@brownsschool.co.za.