On Sunday 13th July, people of all ages gathered at Wilmslow High School for the annual Wilmslow Show. This year was the 102nd Show and just like every year before, the day was a huge success.
There were all sorts of things on offer for people to do; you could admire the flower displays in the horticultural tent, or ride on the ghost train at the fun fair, pay a visit to the classic car display or simply grab a bite to eat in the artisan food tent. The highlight of the show, however, were the two stunt aircraft The Yakovlevs, which was truly incredible to watch, from plane enthusiasts to the general public, it was a real spectacle enjoyed by everyone at the event!
The whole community was involved in the event, from local children performing on the music stage to businesses central to Wilmslow selling their goods on the stalls. The show promoted a positive sense of community and provided a family occasion for everyone to enjoy.
Frank McCarthy, Chairman of the event stated that, "The 102nd Wilmslow Show bounced back from a wet start to its usual happy self with the crowds enjoying the wide variety of attraction on offer for all ages. Somehow we managed to pack even more delight on to the field especially with the incorporation into the Show of the Music Festival, with a wide variety of music at the Bandstand or the Buskers area.
"It was a great Show, meaning now we have to do even better next year – the planning starts next week– we thought we deserved a week off!"
Guest post by Pippa Neill age 17. Pippa, a student at Alderley Edge School for Girls, is doing work experience with us over the summer.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
This year's show wasn't as good as previous shows, with less stands and exhibits than normal. Entries in the flower/baking/vegetable competitions were poor. I don't understand why, as Wilmslow is full of enthusiastic gardeners/bakers etc. Could it be the marketing? It is one of the highlights of the year for my husband and I, and as we had visitors from South Africa and Australia with us I had impressed upon them not to miss it! Felt quite disappointed.....the music festival part of the show was a disaster - unlike the first event last year on the Friday evening. Come on Wilmslow Show organisers, get it sorted because from comments I heard, going to the car park, you may struggle to get people there next year!
But as to the show, it was fun. I too was a bit disappointed by the 'judged' marquee which looked like something after a show is over, when things have been taken, eaten etc.
I think it would benefit from a less linear layout too.
But well done guys for all your efforts in organising this which can't have been easy
Weather is always a factor. The aerobatic pair were fortunate with a break in the cloud base but the display passed without comment on who was performing.
The absent Dakota was unfortunate, but not unexpected.
What was lacking, compared with previous Carnival field shows was a funfair.
Firstly, I'm delighted that there seems to be general approval of what the small band of volunteers do each year to present the people of Wilmslow with their own show. We received no grant from our local council this year, which was extremely disappointing, but despite this we kept the cost of entry unchanged for yet another year. The committee is determined that this should be a low cost community event. So many of these shows have fallen by the wayside in recent years and the committee works extremely hard to keep this show going - plans for 2015 will be discussed this coming week in fact!
We were disappointed that the Dakota failed us yet again but this was due to restriction by Manchester Airport controllers on the day and we were only informed of this 5 minutes before the plane was due. Thankfully the Yakovlev display was unaffected though the commentary was sadly missing.
Dave, how big a funfair do you want ? There were 3 BIG rides + bouncy castles and several other fairground attractions.
Carole, the Alderley Edge & Wilmslow Horticultural Society organises the floral marquee and competitions therein and it has been increasingly difficult to attract new competitors in recent years. The society has made strenuous efforts to publicise the competitions through the website http://www.wilmslowshow.co.uk , through local schools, radio advertising and flyers - 15000 distributed. This year the schedule was rewritten and simplified, entry is free and the prizes generous by "village show" standards. The society don't know what else they can do to attract entries. I might add that this is not confined to our show - most other local and regional shows are experiencing the same problems.
Finally, I hope that you will all come again in 2015 and, more importantly, spread the word that this is a really good family day out.
It will be interesting to see what future new attractions the Show Organisers consider.
Diane, I forgot to comment on the music festival. Last year's event was very good but unfortunately ran at a considerable loss, despite perfect weather. Wilmslow Show picked up the bill! We couldn't afford to risk that loss again so that is why we tried including it on the Sunday. We will be looking at that in our "post show" meeting this week.