Experience all the elements of a county show from the 200 plus virtual shopping village, cooking demonstrations, competitions and entertainment – just all online! The Virtual Shropshire show launches on 22nd August bringing together all the best of Shropshire online benefitting five Shropshire charities. It’s free to join in with fabulous prizes to be won on the day.
The idea comes from the trustees of the Cavalier Centre for the RDA, who have banded together with four other charities: Shropshire RCC, DogAID, the Movement Centre and the friends of the Orthopaedic hospital. They have created a truly Shropshire-wide event with something for everyone.
In the main arena there is a great variety of performances throughout the day and evening and include:
Cooking
- Marcus Bean, celebrity chef, the Shropshire Lad
- Saliha Mahmood Ahmed who won masterchef in 2017
Day-time entertainment
- Theatrick Horse Productions, an equestrian arts company
- Upper Cut Fight Company a film fight stunt company
- Paul “silky” White, comedian
- A virtual choir
- Circus
Evening entertainment – (why not share the fun safely with social distancing in your garden if space allows)
- Demos in cocktail making from Ludlow gin
- Tanners wines presentation
There is also a “Through the keyhole” series offering sneaky, behind-the-scenes peak at some of Shropshire’s top tourist attractions, which have all been impacted by Covid19 closure and want to whet the public’s appetite for when they do reopen.
Prizes to win
Live on the day, there are a number of competitions with some fantastic prizes running. Some of the competitions will be held in areas such as:
A horse arena – with competitions for all abilities, demos from a 4-star eventer, a blacksmith and a paralympian gold medalist among others
Dog show – photo and video entries to cater for all tastes – everyone has a dog that could enter one of the categories, and again demos in between with useful hints and tips like “how to stop your dog jumping up”.
An arts and crafts ‘tent’ – winning entries, funded by Arts Council England, will go to the Weston Park Gallery of Discovery Exhibition in the Granary in September. There are demos planned from some of the counties’ premier artists and craftsmen.
Shropshire’s got talent speaks for itself – whether you were born with a talent, spent years developing one or learnt to play Bobby Shaftoe on the comb through your nostrils during lockdown, there’s something for everyone!
Final competition is the Open Gardens – so many people have beautiful gardens that they have been unable to share this summer – just take an iPhone for a walk around your garden, fill in the anonymised form and share what you have created.
Chelsea gold winner, Caspar Gabb, is one of the judges for the competition and will also share his fantastic garden through a virtual tour. In addition to other talks and demos, Michael Marriott, head rosarian at David Austen roses will talk about fragrance.
Finally, let’s not forget the ultimate shopping experience, particularly if you want to get ahead of the Christmas shopping season, there will be a 200-stand virtual shopping village. (Please note: anyone wanting to book a stand, cost is £35 click here for more information)
Do check the website as activities and information is regularly added and updated.
