Show Out Sunday: A Romany Tradition Remembered
Dee Cooper looks back to Show Out Sunday at the Epsom Derby – and looks forward to what it has become now.
There's a certain magic on the Downs a feeling not always visible but always felt in the heart. For generations of Romanies, Show Out Sunday was more than just a day. It was a celebration, a reunion, a moment of pride and tradition.
Sadly, it was axed in 2009 and since then the crowds have grown smaller and the stalls fewer, but it’s spirit still lingers.
This year, in a corner of the Downs, with the fire pit lit and the skillet hanging over the Chitty irons, we gathered us Romanies and friends to honour that spirit. We came together to keep alive the rituals and stories passed down to us, to remember the elders who came before, and to make sure the next generation still feels the heartbeat of this place.
Laughter, song, and storytelling filled our gazebos. The aroma of a kushti bitta scran rose through the summer air. Those of us who remembered the old days reminisced days when Show Out Sunday was the highlight of the year.
We’d dress up in our finest togs, excited to see family and friends, and meet new faces too. The market on the hill was alive back then with rows of stalls selling everything from laced cushions and curtains,
Crown Derby, Fine China to gold jewellery, Italian children’s clothes, and the finest rugs you could buy. Trailers lined the grass verges, their chrome polished to a mirror shine, reflecting our pride.
Fortune tellers stood in trailer doorways, calling to passers-by, offering a glimpse into the future.
Further down the hill, a crowd always gathered at the bare-knuckle ring cheering, shouting, witnessing the raw tradition of our people’s sport.
But today... things felt different. Quieter. Even more so than recent years. Fewer stalls. Fewer visitors. Still, we were grateful to those stalls that showed up, who kept their promise to tradition, who reminded us that heritage doesn’t survive by accident it survives because people care enough to carry it forward.
To me, the Derby has always belonged to the Romany community. It is a meeting ground not just for trade, but for love, family, and connection. Many couples met on Show Out Sunday. Families planned their year around it. But now, our presence is shrinking. Maybe it’s the commercialisation of the Derby. Maybe it’s because, for the past few years, Epsom and Appleby have coincided forcing our community to choose between two important gatherings.
Whatever the reason, the changes are noticeable. But our memories remain.
The grandstand was never where we gathered. You’d find us in the market where the real action was. We’d save for months for a proper spend-up, leaving the stalls with our arms full, squeezing through crowds, laughing and chatting all the way to the fun fair with cousins and friends in tow.
And still, despite the quiet, this year was unspoiled.
We sang songs. We played games. We shared food, tea, and strawberries. We told stories of the old days and remembered those no longer with us. When the rain came at 4pm, as if on cue, we embraced it huddled under cover, warming our hands around mugs of tea, watching the fire die to glowing embers.
What made me proud was seeing the younger generation - the young ladies and young men still showing up, dressed smart, meeting friends, smiling. They get it.
They feel it. The connection to the land, to our roots, to something greater than any single person.
We will be back, as we always have. And we hope that one day Show Out Sunday will return. Because there’s something sacred about this place a spark that can’t be packaged or sold. A tradition that lives not in buildings or titles, but in the hearts of people who show up year after year.
Long may we honour our traditions. And long may we continue to show up for each other, and for all those who came before.
With heartfelt thanks to Moving for Change for sponsoring this year’s Heritage Hub at Epsom 2025.
By Dee Cooper – for the Traveller Times
(Lead photograph: Crowds at the stalls (c) Nathalia Anzona)