Fair and Square

Youth Centre and YouthLink’s annual end-of-year fair took place on 21 December, attracting a sizeable and enthusiastic crowd. The organisers of Fair and Square (as the event was called) focused their efforts on showcasing the Youth Centre space as a vibrant social centre – or town square – prominently located on the Crown road. Visitors were asked to reimagine the Youth Centre they would want to see five years from now. This was then harvested in the form of drawings, ideas, and suggestions for the Youth Centre and YouthLink teams to draw inspiration from in the coming years. Visitors were also treated to a 47 metre long zipline, a giant seesaw, a dunk tank and a crate stacking game. They could participate in a giant collective art project, screen-print a Free Store t-shirt with the commemorative Fair and Square design, or support the Youth Centre by buying t-shirts already printed with the unique artwork. At the Upcycling Studio stall, visitors made earrings or keychains from waste leather; at the Revelation Forest stall, visitors who matched plant leaves with the correct name won a free cup of juice; the Green Silk Road stall featured photos from the programme’s overland travel across Eurasia connecting people and regenerative projects; the Rainbow Collective exhibited the work of various community artists; and, as always, Johnny’s stall brewed free tea for one and all. Visitors commented on the strong show of Youth Centre vitality and Auroville community spirit, and many felt reinvigorated by the bustling event.