Businesses and Community Working Together for Fakenham
Businesses and Community Working Together for Fakenham
Left to right: Daniel Grocott of Grocott & Murfit, Tim Summers of Aldiss, Heather de Lyon of Active Fakenham, Samantha Lupton and Martyn Benstead of Stephenson Smart, and Ash Williams, Active Fakenham Director, FFF26. Front: Penelope Bucknell of Fakenham Town Council and Richard Crook of Active Fakenham, with Benji joining the picture too.
We are very pleased and proud to have built partnerships over many years. They have enabled us to achieve so much for the town and for residents and visitors alike.
This photograph captures something very important about Active Fakenham and about the wider life of the town. It shows the value of partnership, the importance of community and the positive things that can happen when people work together with a shared purpose.
Pictured are representatives from Active Fakenham alongside just three of the many local businesses linked with the organisation — Aldiss, Grocott & Murfit and Stephenson Smart — together with the Fakenham Town Council representative on the Active Fakenham steering committee, and Benji the dog, who adds a touch of warmth and personality to the image.
For the past 13 years, Active Fakenham has been built on the belief that the best community activity does not happen in isolation. The strongest ideas and the most lasting benefits usually come when businesses, community organisations, public sector partners and individual volunteers all play a part — and all of those contributions are equally valuable.
That matters especially because Active Fakenham is a small community organisation with no staff and no core funding beyond what it can raise. Everything it does depends on collaboration, sponsorship, grants, goodwill, practical help and the commitment of volunteers. Without that support, many of the town’s activities would simply not be possible.
Over the past 13 years, Active Fakenham has run more than 200 events and activities. Across its new five-festival programme, that partnership approach can be seen clearly. The Riverside Festival, including the popular Duck and Cardboard Raft Races, gives local businesses and organisations a fun and visible way to be involved, with hopes for 35 sponsored ducks this year. The Fakenham Easter Sunday Festival of Running has introduced the Business and Community Shield, encouraging organisations not only to sponsor from the sidelines, but to take part.
The same spirit runs through the Fakenham Arts Festival (FAF26) and the Fakenham Film Festival. This August’s FAF26 already has around 50 local venues and businesses and 40 artists signed up, showing how creativity, commerce and community can work together to bring energy, pride and visitors into the town.
This photograph is about more than a group standing together for the camera. It reflects a wider way of working. It shows that local businesses are not separate from community life — they can be part of it. Together with volunteers, community organisations and public sector partners, they help create the momentum, confidence and shared pride that make things possible.
Richard Crook of Active Fakenham said:
“Over the years, we have developed a model built on partnership, community involvement and shared benefit. It is not complicated, but it is effective. Bring people together from
different sectors, encourage them to talk, find common ground, and create something practical, visible and enjoyable. When that happens, the result is often far greater than the sum of its parts.”
He added:
“Businesses are not separate from community life. They are part of it. Their support, alongside the involvement of community organisations, public sector partners and individual volunteers, helps create the confidence, momentum and shared pride that make things possible.”
That view is shared by local business supporters. Daniel Grocott of Grocott & Murfit said:
“Partnerships like this matter because they help make Fakenham a stronger, more connected and more confident town.”
Tim Summers of Aldiss added:
“Active Fakenham has shown what can be achieved when businesses, volunteers and community organisations work together for the good of the town.”
That has been the story of Active Fakenham over the past 13 years, and it remains central to its future. More than 200 events on, the message is still the same: partnership matters, volunteers matter, local businesses matter, public sector support matters — and when all of those elements come together, the whole town benefits.
If your business would like to be part of this growing community effort, we would love to hear from you. We are currently inviting sponsorship for ducks in the Riverside Festival on 21 June, and are also seeking sponsors for the 2026 Film and Arts Festivals. You can also contact Richard to discuss other ways your business can support Active Fakenham and get involved in future events and activities. Full details can be found on the Active Fakenham website.
Richard Crook Active Fakenham April 2026.
