Page 56 - ALG Issue 4 2018

Eastern
Swavesey Festival Village Show, July 2018
The village of Swavesey, between Cambridge and Huntingdon, hosts a bi-annual Village Festival consisting of a week of numerous and varied events, and culminates in a Gala Day on the Recreation Green on the final Saturday. This year Hale Road Allotment and Gardening Association was invited to organise the Village Show. A large marquee was to be filled with exhibits of vegetables, fruit, flowers, preserves, home baking and crafts. Previously organised by the village’s WI, there was of course a standard to maintain.
A sub-committee of plotholders checked through programmes from similar shows held locally in recent years and came up with 52 show classes of sufficiently wide variety such that most Swavesey residents would be able to find 2 or 3 entry classes which appealed to them. Fourteen classes were specifically for children of different age ranges to enter and included a decorated stone, a piece of jewellery involving beads and a collage of the village sign. Our publicity encouraged plotholders and village residents to enter as many categories as possible, from a flower arrangement in a teapot to a jar of pickled mixed vegetables, and from a bottle of any fruit gin to a handmade bag in any medium.
Six suitable judges were identified and appointed at an early stage. Certificates, rosettes and other essentials were purchased. A long
list of helpers was drawn up from allotment plotholders including stewards to the judges, clerks to book in entries, assistants to lead entrants to their class locations, scribes to fill in certificates and runners for associated tasks.
The serious preparations started on the Friday evening in setting out the marquee with 32 trestle tables and exhibit areas marked on banqueting roll laid along them. Then from 8am on the Saturday morning people started arriving with their exhibits. In total 490 entries were received – far more than in earlier years. At 10am the marquee closed for judging and by 12.30pm certificates and rosettes had been placed and the marquee tidied up ready for the public to enter after the Gala opening speeches.
Hordes of children rushed in to see if they had won and they brought their parents and their grandparents with them, and many had also brought their friends and relations. Having a significant number of entry classes for children is a good way of bringing in a big audience. Village residents also flocked in, but more soberly.
The Village Show has always been very well supported and this year was a big success, particularly with so many children’s entries. Considering we had quite a wet and cold start to our growing season this year, then by July the sun had been beating down quite ferociously, and here in Cambridgeshire we hadn’t seen any rainfall since 25th May, the vegetable exhibits were still plentiful and of good quality.
The Village Show is great fun for everyone to enter whatever they can and to showcase the Allotment Association and the variety
of produce which plotholders grow. Hale Road Allotments has 61 plots and has been going now for 6 seasons after being set up from scratch in autumn 2012.
Linda, Plot 51, Hale Road A&GA
Welcome to our new members...
Deeping St James Parish Council Wolverton & Greenleys Town Council Messing Allotment Association Dowgate Allotment Society
2 Landowners
16 Individual Members
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