‘We could not have asked for a better day’
CROWDS TURN OUR FOR RETURN OF THE COUNTY SHOW
A BUMPER crowd took advantage of the hot late spring sunshine to enjoy countryside crafts, entertainment, livestock displays and a Second World fly-past when the Nottinghamshire County Show returned with a bang over the weekend.
Organisers said the event, which was being held for the 137th time, brought thousands of people flocking to Newark Showground, where the county show was being held for the first time in two years following the Covid pandemic.
The county show is organised by the Newark and Nottinghamshire Agricultural Society and offers people living and working in the countryside the opportunity to showcase their produce, animals, machinery and rural skills, alongside entertainment, a food and drink festival, trade stands and music and dancing performances.
Among the highlights was a Queen’s Platinum Jubilee exhibition organised by Nottinghamshire County Council, equestrian competitions, a parade of vintage tractors, a madcap lawnmower race hosted by the Nottinghamshire Young Farmers Clubs, and a parade of the winning livestock, featuring sheep, goats and cattle.
There was also a family friendly dog show, cake-baking competitions and a flypast from the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’s lastsurviving Avro Lancaster, which thrilled crowds by circling in the blue skies above the showground – formerly RAF Winthorpe – before flying off towards its base at RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire.
This year’s show was the first to have been held on one day rather than two, while organisers also decided to take it back to its roots by focusing on showcasing and promoting the rural side of life and the huge contribution that the agriculture sector makes to the life and economy of Nottinghamshire.
Show organiser Elizabeth Halsall said: “We could not have asked for a better day to bring the crowds out and back to Newark Showground – it’s been a wonderful event and huge reward for the tremendous amount of work that has gone into staging this year’s county show.
“We are extremely grateful to everybody who has taken part, from competitors, to trade stand holders, our stewards and all of our thousands of visitors, for supporting us and making the show’s return such a success.
“The countryside contributes millions of pounds to Nottinghamshire’s economy and everybody who lives in the countryside is very proud of the role they play in growing the food that feeds the county. The county show is the countryside at its best and we could not be happier with how today has gone.”
The date for next year’s Nottinghamshire County Show has already been set, and it is due to return on May 13, 2023.