The Long Buckby Feast was revived in 2007 after many years of not running. It aims to raise money for charity and to bring life to the village of Long Buckby by staging events on and around the August Bank Holiday.
- The history of the Long Buckby Feast dates back to the early middle ages: in 1280 the village was granted a Charter for a Market and two Fairs or Feasts, one in May and one at St Lawrence’s day (August 10th).
Buckby Feast Day is celebrated in the Market Place which is decked with bunting, filled with stalls and thronged with people – in the first year more than 1,500 people turned up, and numbers have continued to grow every year. In 2016 it was moved to the sports field where there is more space.
The Feast traditionally starts with a short service before the festivities get going. There is a competition to find the best “Feas Pudn” (the time-honoured Long Buckby Feast Pudding) which is heralded by the Parade of the Pudns with the entrants plus the robed judges. Then follows music and dancing, fairground attractions, Punch and Judy, bouncy castles, displays, games, competitions and many stalls selling a huge range of goods, a pig roast, Pimms tent, barbecue as well as all the pubs and restaurants on the Market Place.
- The Feast raised more than £5,000 in its first year, which lead to the formation of a charity, called The Buckby Feast Trust.
Since 2008, Buckby Feast has also held events in the week of the Bank Holiday and has broadened its activities. There is tremendous support from people and organisations in the village, both in the run up to the Feast, and during the events. In both 2016 and 2018 the Feast benefitted from superb weather, and again raised significant sums, all of which are distributed by the Trust to support local causes.