The oldest job on the row
The coconut shy is about as old as fairgrounds get, and it has not changed much because it does not need to. Real coconuts sit balanced on stands, you are handed wooden balls, and you throw until one comes off clean. Everyone recognises it on sight, and everyone already knows how to play it.
Ours runs under the red and white striped canopy, which gives the stall its look wherever it stands - a field, a showground, a town square or indoors on hard standing. The stand design means it is not tied to grass, so it works at venues the traditional version would not.
One of our team sets it up, runs it and packs it down. Winners get novelty sweets, and if you want the coconuts themselves as prizes - which is the traditional way - they can be bought from us before the event in batches of 50 for £40.
It is the stall that belongs at the front of the row. Put it beside the Hook-a-Duck and the Grand Carnival stalls and the fair starts to look like a fair.















