A bumper season of regional agricultural shows gets under way this month – highlighting the best of East Anglia’s food and farming industries to an eager public.
In the south of the region, the South Suffolk Show takes place on Sunday, 10 May, at Ampton point-to-point racecourse, just off the A134 near Ingham, Bury St. Edmunds.
It will include Paul Hannam’s ATV Stunt Show – as seen on BBC’s Top Gear with Paddy McGuinness . It will also celebrate 100 years of British Sugar, with a display of agricultural machinery used over the years in the production of the crop.
Kangaroo Kid
The following week will see the 186th Hadleigh Show take place on Saturday, 16 May. Held in the parkland setting of Holbecks Park, on the edge of Hadleigh, it will include a special Food in the Field eating area, music and a family friendly ring layout.
Hadleigh Show secretary Tory Lugsden says: “The Grand Ring will feature the Kangaroo Kid as our main attraction – Sam Coulter’s father Matt last displayed at the show in 2003 with our current show director Will Pratt’s’s father Martin at the helm so is a real history repeating itself with the next generation taking over the reins.”
Elsewhere, events include the Essex Young Farmers County Show on Sunday, 17 May, near Chelmsford. It will be followed by the Suffolk Show on 27-28 May at Trinity Park, Ipswich.
Food and farming
This year’s Suffolk Show promises to be the county’s largest two-day visitor experience – highlighting the importance of food and farming to the regional economy, coupled with being a great day out for families.
The show will include a special focus on the humble potato, with Frontier Agriculture and Suffolk County Council helping to showcase the field to fork story of the crop in a special display aimed at farmers and non-farmers alike.
The Farm4Future area will offer an enlightening and engaging experience for visitors of all ages. It hopes change perceptions of what working in food and farming and allied industries looks like and could look like in the future.
In the north of the region, the Royal Norfolk Show takes place on 24-25 June. This year, show president Paul Hoveson is on a mission to attract more youngsters into the industry as their career of choice.
Later this season sees the return of two popular one-day shows. The Wayland Show takes place at Watton on Sunday, 2 August. The Aylsham Show takes place on its traditional August Bank Holiday date (24 August).