A pavilion with gifts galore and farm food halls filled with festive fare are among the highlights of the new Christmas livestock show at the Bath & West Showground.
The new Royal Smithfield Christmas Fair offers visitors the opportunity to stock up on presents, sample the very best food around, enjoy a major food challenge featuring the country’s top producers, suppliers and chefs and see the country’s premier primestock on parade - all at the same time.
Preparations are well underway for the new two day event which takes place at the Bath & West Showground at Shepton Mallet, Somerset on December 1st and 2nd and is jointly organised by the Royal Smithfield Club and the Royal Bath & West of England Society.
The amount of interest in the new event has delighted organisers, and enquiries have been received from all over the country as well as from America and Europe.
This major new agricultural exhibition, centred around the traditional Royal Smithfield Club’s livestock competitions, offers a first class opportunity to showcase the country’s top livestock, and the services and products related to the livestock and meat industry.
The Royal Smithfield Club is supervising the livestock entries while the Society is handling the tradestands, marketing and sponsorship for the new event. It is not the first time the two historic organisations have worked together. After the Second World War, Society staff in Bath used to help run the Royal Smithfield Show in London right up until the early 1960’s when the Society moved to its present base at Shepton Mallet.
Hotel space is being snapped up across the area by exhibitors and show-goers, many of them taking the advantage of the chance of combining their visit to the show with Christmas shopping and theatre trips in nearby Bristol and Bath.
The prestigious Meat Industry Dinner on the evening of the first day of the Show (Friday Dec 1st) is sponsored by Lloyds TSB Agriculture, and there are several sponsorship opportunities available for businesses. Farmers Weekly is the main media sponsor and there will be seminars, demonstrations and a host of guest speakers as well as butchery displays and The National Festival of Meat Beef Ribs Competition
Another feature of the new show will be The Festive Farm Food Halls, supported by NatWest, promoting meat at the heart of the food chain, to encourage visitors to appreciate all the best that British food producers have to offer and to promote a better understanding of how agriculture contributes to the nation’s health and well-being.
One of the highlights there will be a Festive Farm Food Challnege – which throws down the gauntlet to teams to come up with two recipes – one for a festive buffet lunch and the other for a three course supper. Each team must consist of a farmer or producer who will supply the main ingredient for the recipes, a butcher, fishmonger or game dealer who supplies the farmer or producer’s product to the public, and a chef who is a champion of using local suppliers.
Full details of the challenge can be obtained from Andrew Clune at the Bath & West Showground on 01749 822232, and the closing date for entries is November 1st.
And as well as presenting a superb Christmas shopping opportunity with festive food and a gift fair in the Avalon Pavilion, there will be a Carol Service to get everyone well and truly into the Christmas spirit.
Tickets for the show can be booked now on the credit card hotline on 01749 822 222. Further information can be obtained from the Bath & West Showground on 01749 822 200 or on the website.
Advanced Saver Tickets are £10 for adults (£15 on the gate), £8 for Concessions and Students (£12 on the gate). There is free entry for children aged 15 and under, and free entry for members of the Royal Smithfield Club and the Royal Bath & West of England Society. The ticket hotline closes on Friday, November 24th.
For tradestand enquiries contact Sandra Collishaw at the Bath & West Showground on 01749 822231.
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Support for new Christmas Fair
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