Once a year, on the Spring Bank Holiday, Rolleston plays host to a fantastic array of vintage vehicles, bicycles, motorbikes, stalls, fairground rides and much, much more. These are displayed on the Croft, Burnside and surrounding areas in the village of Rolleston On Dove. The festival is organised by a dedicated team who give up their time to give something back to the community in which they live. It is this dedication which has helped to raise vital money for local charities. Without the continued support from you, our visitors, we would not raise a single penny. So please support the festival and join us in May when Rolleston once again attracts polished chrome and bodywork for enthusiasts and the whole family to enjoy.
In addition to the Transport Festival the day also sees the village-wide Grand Garage Sale Tour where vintage buses will ferry visitors around the many garage sales all over the village. The combination of the two events make this a unique day out for all the family.
Rolleston Transport Festival 2017 Review
The weather was not kind to us this year. The drizzle early on meant about a quarter of the entrants didn’t turn out. The early rain also meant that Gemma Bowers, who sings in the Club car park couldn’t perform (rain and electrics don’t mix). Unfortunately the fair organ is broken (temorarily) and so we were without most of the music. The bad weather also meant that the Dakota fly past didn’t happen. However the day eventually brightened up and everything went really well for a good part of the day. Then at about half past two the heavens opened. All the cars made a dash for the exit and it was left for the helpers to clear up in the rain.
That is the bad news. The good news is that everyone there said they had a good time as usual and attendance was very good.
We were very lucky this year to be sponsored by TL Darby who showed the new MGs they are now agents for. The day raised approximately £4 500 which will be split equally between St Giles Hospice, Midlands Air Ambulance and St John Ambulance.
The event is now quite complicated to stage and needs a lot of help. Unfortunately the number of helpers was down slightly on previous years. We need more help on the day if the event is to carry on as usual. It isn’t very onerous and is enjoyable. Please put the date in your diary – the late May Bank Holiday – and volunteer to help for just two hours by contacting me below.
John Morris Chairman – Organising Committee
Helping Local Charities
- St Giles Hospice
- Midlands Air Ambulance
- St Mary’s Church
- Rolleston Almshouses Renovation Appeal
- Burton YMCA
- Burton Sea Cadets
- Rolleston Pre-school Playgroup
- Rolleston Methodist Chapel
- Rolleston United Foundation
- Station Heritage Group
- Staffordshire/Shropshire Blood Bikes
A Few Pictures From Our Festivals
A Few Video Clips From Our Festivals
Useful Maps to Help You Find us
Fundraising
The original intention of the organisers of the Festival was to provide a day out for Rolleston and surrounding residents. It became apparent that we would need to raise money to put the event on and then that we would, hopefully, more than cover our costs. This proved to be the case and, after deducting costs, the money raised was given to local charities. This continued over the years and to date we have raised approximately £45 000 for charity.
Whilst the first aim was always to provide a good day out, raising money for charity has become a large part of the organisation. Last year we took the decision to make the event free entry for both exhibitors and the viewing public. Unfortunately asking for voluntary donations was not successful. We have decided to go back to a fixed entry fee. This will be £5 per adult with school age children free. Every party also gets a free copy of the souvenir brochure. This is not expensive for a good day out. Be assured that we are a non-profit organisation and all money raised goes to charity.
Sponsors of Rolleston Transport Festival
TL Darby Major Sponsor Of The 10th Rolleston Transport Festival
This year will be the tenth Transport Festival and each year the number of exhibitors and the number of visitors has grown substantially.
We are very pleased to announce that TL Darby will be sponsoring the festival again this year and will cover a large part of the running costs. This will enable us to put the majority of the money collected on the day towards our charities. TL Darby are a local firm of car dealers who have been trading for 50 years and are agents for Volkswagen and MG. We are very grateful to Richard Darby for his generosity and hope you will visit his display on the day.
We are still looking for sponsors who would not be in competition to TL Darby and who would have access to a large number of car enthusiasts and be linked to a very successful venture with many opportunities for advertising. Please contact John Morris (see contact details) if you would like to take advantage of this opportunity.
