07/01/2026
To all those lovely people who've been watching this page waiting to see a date for 2026 we wanted to update you as quickly as we could...
After a LOT of discussion and thought, the UCCC/Sheriff Hutton Village Party group met last night and have decided NOT to run an auction in 2026.
These auctions were originally set up to be held every 2 years, to fund an annual free party for older residents of Sheriff Hutton, Lilling and Stittenham. At some point we started to make the auction annual for continuity, and to raise funds for other local groups and charities. But this is no longer sustainable for a few reasons:
1. We're a really small committee (5 people) and even with our amazing group of faithful volunteers and the fabulous support of the History Group, we're finding it hard to pull this big event together every year.
2. No longer being spring chickens ourselves (!) it's getting harder for a lot of us to lug around heavy items all weekend. We do depend on strong young helpers!
3. We're also finding it very tricky to clear the hall at the end of the auction without paying quite a lot of money for a clearance. This has been an ongoing problem and we haven't yet been able to find a sensible solution. We absolutely want to avoid tipping perfectly saleable items which have been so generously donated!
So, we're looking at a possible date for 2027 but this is really only going to be possible if we can recruit more willing helpers AND find a solution to disposing of unsold items at the end. Please do get in touch if you would like to help and we'll keep you posted!
