WORLD FUN FAIR MONTH FOCUSES ON CAREERS IN SHOWMANSHIP AND THE IMPORTANCE OF FAIRS September 2021 marked the inaugural World Fun Fair Month (WFFM), an international community awareness month for the traveling fairground industry. Promoted by Future4Fairgrounds, WFFM celebrations include flags and banners featuring the event's distinctive logo at many fairgrounds. Celebrated across the UK and worldwide, WFFM aimed to unite showmen and bring communities together to celebrate all aspects of the fairground and the joy fairs bring. Showmen from the UK, Europe, North America, and Australasia engage, ensuring the event is global. To kick off the month, Future4Fairgrounds launched a video titled "I Am A Showman" to raise awareness of the showpeople community and demonstrate their unity. Showmen of all ages and from various nations participate. After over a year of COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns, people were encouraged to visit their local fairs to enjoy a family-friendly day out. World Fun Fair Month celebrates not just the fairground industry but also the people who share their unique cultural heritage as showmen, a tradition passed down through generations. Showmen are intrinsically linked to the towns they visit and the fairgrounds, which have been community staples for centuries. Future4Fairgrounds aimed to ensure that this history and culture were recognized and celebrated. Additionally, Future4Fairgrounds promoted the children's book "The Show Must Go On" by distributing 1,000 copies to 200 primary schools. The book tells the story of a family of traveling showpeople defending their yard from developers. Colleen Roper of Future4Fairgrounds said the World's Fair, "[the book] is truly extraordinary. It portrays a subject that has never been covered before in this way, raising awareness of our community accurately and positively through education." The group also supplied teaching resources accompanying the book, which have been valuable in helping represent the showmen community positively in UK schools. "By giving teachers an opportunity to plan lessons around our industry, perceptions of showmen can be changed from the ground up," Roper said. Funds for the book project were raised through the sale of World Fun Fair Month merchandise, such as flags and banners, which remained visible at fairs well beyond September. September was a busy month for Future4Fairgrounds. They also initiated an inclusive online education event, "Showmen: Getting a Fair Education," supported by Buckingham University. This event, evolving from the school book project, aimed to help higher education facilities learn more about the showmen industry and way of life, supporting positive inclusion and celebrating the community's history and contributions. "Showmen are leading the way to empower schools, colleges, and universities to help higher education facilities learn more about our industry and way of life, to support positive inclusion and celebration of our community's history and contribution to society," Roper explained. "This has been something we didn't anticipate when we first had the idea for World Fun Fair Month, so it has been truly wonderful to see the schools project evolve in this way." Roper added, "During the past two traveling seasons, fairgrounds worldwide were canceled. Showmen have endured huge financial losses and uncertainty as a result. WFFM represents a fantastic opportunity to recover by reminding people of all the joy a fair brings to the town and welcoming families back for a fun day out."