The complete village fete kit list
The fete is the most organised chaos in English life. Here is the hire list that keeps the committee sane, for a typical 500-visitor afternoon on the green.
A 500-visitor village fete typically needs: 6 or more stall gazebos, 40 trestle tables, 150 chairs, a PA for announcements, 7 toilets (1 per 75, no bar) plus accessible, 10 bin pairs with an emptying rota, some fencing for the boundary and the generator pen, a small silenced generator, and a PIPA-tested bouncy castle with attendant. Budget £1,500 to £3,500.
The kit list, line by line
Worked at 500 visitors. Every line links to the full category guide with prices.
| Item | Quantity logic | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Stall gazebos / market stalls | 1 per stallholder + committee tent + first aid point | Self-erect pop-ups keep costs down |
| Trestle tables | 2 per stall + tea tent + tombola: ~40 for a full fete | The item committees always under-order |
| Chairs | Seats for a third of peak visitors → ~150 at 500 | Folding chairs, clustered at tea and the arena |
| PA system | Announcements + arena events: small powered system + radio mic | Test the mic before the dog show, not during |
| Toilets | 1 per 75 (no bar) → 7 + 1 accessible at 500 | Beer tent? Ratio tightens to 1 per 50 |
| Bins | 1 pair per 50 visitors + emptying rota | Cluster at tea tent, BBQ and exits |
| Fencing | Boundary where needed + generator pen + dog show ring | 20–40 Heras panels does most fetes |
| Generator | Small silenced set: PA + tea urns + candy floss + bouncy castle blower | Tea urns pull more than the PA |
| Bouncy castle | PIPA-tested, attended, with wind plan | The insurance question, answered properly |
The committee reality
Fetes run on volunteers, one shared spreadsheet and someone called Margaret who knows where everything is. The hire list rewards simplicity: fewer suppliers, deliveries that arrive when the field is empty, and collections agreed for Monday morning so nobody spends Sunday guarding a marquee.
The single best decision a committee makes is one site services order: toilets, generator and fencing from one local firm means one delivery, one invoice for the treasurer, and one number to ring when something needs moving.
The insurance questions, answered before they are asked
The bouncy castle is where fete insurance gets real: use a PIPA-tested unit from an operator with public liability insurance, attended at all times, with a written wind rule (operation stops above 24mph gusts). A proper operator brings all of this; the favour-from-a-mate option brings none of it.
Electric safety is the other one: cables flown or matted at crossing points, the generator penned away from children, and everything RCD-protected. A silenced set at the field edge with one tidy distribution run passes every look it gets.
Money: the fete maths
A full-dress 500-visitor fete hires for £1,500 to £3,500: stalls and furniture roughly a third, welfare and power a third, the castle, PA and sundries the rest. Most committees halve the bill over three years by buying their own gazebos and borrowing the school's chairs: the hire list then shrinks to welfare, power and the castle, which is exactly as it should be.
Village fete: the questions that follow
How many toilets does a village fete need?
For 500 visitors without a bar: 7 standard units plus 1 accessible (the 1-per-75 ratio). If there is a beer tent, tighten to 1 per 50. If the village hall toilets are open and adjacent, count them and cut the hire accordingly.
Do we need insurance for a bouncy castle at a fete?
Hire from an operator with their own public liability cover and PIPA-tested equipment, keep it attended, and follow the wind rule. Your event insurance should also be told it is there. Reputable operators hand you all the paperwork without being asked.
What does a fete cost to equip?
A typical 500-visitor fete hires £1,500 to £3,500 of kit: stalls, tables, chairs, PA, toilets, bins, fencing, a small generator and the bouncy castle. Committees that own their gazebos and borrow chairs can run to under £1,000.
Not sure what you need yet?
Start with a free calculator: the same formulas the optimiser uses. Get your answer, then turn it into a full kit list in one tap.