South of England showground has a packed year planned for 2012
Innovations, investment and an anniversary are keeping members of the South of England Agricultural Society busy as planning for their 2012 events calendar moves into full swing.
Staff, committee members and other volunteers are pulling out all the stops to make sure this year is a truly memorable one for landowners, farmers, farmworkers and countryside enthusiasts, as well as the tens of thousands of other visitors to the charity’s showground at Ardingly, near Haywards Heath, over the coming months.
The calendar of crowd-pulling events to be staged at the hilltop setting of the South of England Showground is being given a fillip this year by refurbishment of the Norfolk Pavilion.
This is just one innovation for the rural showcase in 2012.
Many inaugural attractions take their place alongside the ever-popular events such as the annual Spring Garden and Leisure Show on May 6 & 7, the bumper three-day South of England Show on June 7, 8 & 9, the Autumn Show and Game Fair on October 6 & 7and the Festive Food and Drink Fayre on December 1 & 2.
Each of the big four shows is organised by the Society’s dedicated office team, with a great deal of help from loyal supporters and volunteers.
The first show of 2012, the Spring Garden andLeisure Show, will feature a gardeners’ question forum for the first time, with a panel of horticultural experts including Jean Griffin from BBC Surrey, Sussex and Kent, Martin Duncan, Head Gardener at Arundel Castle, Peter Holman, Chairman of South and South East in Bloom and London in Bloom, Tom Brown from Parham Park and Isobel McKinley from Arundel Castle.
The panellists will answer pre-submitted questions from the public on gardening matters.
New, also, will be a Mini Sheep Show attraction, adding to the ever popular Crufts qualifying Dog Show and the Alpaca Show.
The prestigious South of England Show, with its 80,000-plus visitors over three days, is running in this Olympic year with the theme of “Food for Sport”, which is expected to be reflected throughout the showground.
Another mid-summer attraction will be a special celebration marking the 25th anniversary of the highly-acclaimed Young Craftsman of the Year Competition.
It sets out to recognise and encourage the skills and innovations of the next generation of wood turners, metalworkers, jewellery makers, technology entrepreneurs and others.
The Silver anniversary will be a big feature of the Young Craftsman of the Year marquee at the South of England Show when former winners will be among the many visitors.
With the digital age being fully embraced by the majority, the South of England Agricultural Society is no exception and can now be found on Facebook and Twitter, with regular tweets available at @SofEShowground.
The Society’s new communications programme, for public and members alike, can also be seen via the Blog where news updates and interesting snippets will be regularly posted.
This year the Society welcomes its new President, Mrs James Teacher.
Mrs Teacher, who has lived and farmed in Kent - the Garden of England - for most of her life, is a past High Sheriff of Kent and served on the Kent Committee of the CLA for 20 years. She takes over from the Society’s 2011 President, Lord Carnarvon.
The pictures are of the cavalcade of hounds and (below) the cattle parade at the South of England Show.
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(Added to site Monday, February 13th, 2012)
