Easter hat competition organized at the Fair Close Center

A community center in Newbury for over 65 years held an Easter bonnet competition, which saw a variety of fun and dynamic entries.
Visitors to the Fair Close Center had their beanie creations judged by one of the center’s administrators on the morning of Wednesday, April 13.
The center holds regular Wednesday morning craft sessions, funded by the Corn Exchange, where Fair Close visitors had the chance to build their Easter headdresses.
Margot Payne, the Fair Close administrator who judged the Easter bonnet competition, said: ‘It was lovely. It was really hard to choose because they were all excellent!”
The competition took the form of the technical challenge seen on The Great British Bake Off, with Ms Payne playing the role of Prue Leith.
The caps were lined up on a table and Ms Payne ruled them blind as she knew everyone who had entered correctly and said she didn’t want that to influence her decision.
There were prizes for the top three hats, with first place going to Audrey, second place to Ken, and third place to Sandra.
Ms Payne said she chose Audrey’s entry as the winner because of its simplicity and beauty.
All of the hats were Easter themed, with many incorporating chickens, little chicks, nests and daffodils into their designs.
Ms Payne added: ‘They really enjoyed making them and they all looked great when they put them on afterwards.
Everyone who entered the contest received a creme egg, and the three winners each received a larger Easter egg.