Mill Road Winter Fair will be taking place this year on the 6th December (the first Saturday in December) with the opening, by the Mayor and Michelle Spring, at 10.30 at Ditchburn Gardens and going on until around 4.30 pm. This is an important event in the seasonal business calendar, bringing many thousands of people to the area, raising the profile of Mill Road, increasing awareness of the many and diverse businesses and community groups on and around Mill Road, and generally establishing the area’s identity in Cambridge.

This year, we are planning to make the Fair bigger and better. Along with the many activities being organised for the day, we are designing a programme to be handed out to the public, listing all the events at the different venues and shops. This year we are producing 20,000 programmes to provide a wonderful opportunity to a visiting public curious to discover new things and indulge in the best our area has to offer.

The Mill Road area has had some bad press in the past and there are people who no longer come to this area to shop or to eat. They are missing out on the liveliest and most exciting neighbourhood in Cambridge. True, the area has always disproportionately attracted the disadvantaged and damaged, but that is a reflection of the generous and tolerant nature of the place and its residents. And these same characteristics provide us with a cosmopolitan and vital area for living and working. Now we want to encourage you to walk along the street and see the stunning variety and quality of what is on offer. In the distant past people thought it was an interesting street where everything was available. If people thought that then, think of what has opened on Mill Road since: Chinese and Korean supermarkets, noodle bars, computer shops and gift shops, cybercafés and The Black Cat, Café Brazil, Al-Amin's, Bharat Bhavan where the Indian Community is based, an Italian delicatessen, and North African, Adriatic and Turkish restaurants. This is in addition to all the antique shops, book shops, Indian restaurants, bike shops, butchers, bakers and candlestick-makers that existed before. It is truly diverse, both in what can be found for sale or to eat and in terms of who is selling or preparing it. Please come to the Fair and see for yourself how this works - how the people of Mill Road live and work together in this vibrant neighbourhood.