A NEW generation of volunteers has helped save one of Monmouthshire’s most cherished Christmas events.

The annual Frost Fayre has been held in Magor in early December for the past 35 years - but when several of the event’s long-standing and most committed volunteers announced they were stepping down after last year’s edition, the future of this village event was under threat.

But, following an appeal last December, which was shared by the Argus' sister paper the Free Press, members of the local community stepped forward and helped save the event.

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“We’re delighted with the response we had to our appeal for help,” Richard Waller, chairman of the organising group, said this week. “We’ve had a significant increase in our membership – younger members mean our average age has dropped, and we’ve had both men and women join us.

“We’re really encouraged that the community pulled together, and that the event is going to continue.”

Mr Waller told the Free Press previously that many of the event’s volunteers – who were in their 30s and 40s when the Frost Fayre was founded – could not be expected to spend cold December days outside, setting up and dismantling the stalls.

Organised by local volunteers Magor Events Group Churchmen, the preparations for the village fairs – there is also a spring edition held each May – can involve up to 12 hours of working outside and heavy lifting.

But the new wave of volunteers was more than up to the task, Mr Waller said.

“We’re really very pleased – it looks like some of them are going to take on a significant role,” he said. “We’ve got at least 10 or 12 new, active members who are turning up regularly.”

This year’s Frost Fayre will be held in Magor Square, in the centre of the village, on Saturday, December 7, from 5pm.

Admission is free and entertainment includes Santa’s grotto, music, stalls, guest acts, and hot food including a hog roast.

All proceeds from the event will go to charities and those in need.