TENBURY is set to have another major regional show to bring people into the town.

The Tenbury Agricultural Society has changed the name of its autumn produce show to The West of England Harvest Show to mark the intention to transform it from a local show to a regional event.

This year’s show chairman Richard Powell says the society wants to make it the show that celebrates the dedication to fruit and hop growing on this side of the country and encompasses the region’s diversity of arable and fodder production.

The show’s geographic reach will now expand from the Teme valley to bring in Herefordshire, Worcestershire, south Shropshire and north Gloucestershire.

“The first 50 years of the show have been a great success. Beginning with just four hop growers in 1968 it has grown to the point where last year’s hop entries passed the 100 mark, the show received 250 plus entries overall and raised over £500 each for the Tenbury hospital league of friends and the West Midlands Air Ambulance,” said Mr Powell.

“We want to build on this momentum to involve more growers, increase public attendance and boost our fund raising.

“The younger generation, particularly the Young Farmers, are showing interest in the show. We want to harness this enthusiasm and give them something to get behind and promote.

“We also need to engage with people’s interest in food and drink. With the great variety of produce grown in the West of England and the opportunity our show presents for face-to-face interaction we are uniquely placed to satisfy this passion for provenance.”

Of the show’s 46 open classes there are; eight for hops; eight for apples and pears; seven for combinable crops and; 13 for fodder and root crops.

For youngsters there are three classes for Halloween pumpkins and scarecrows and for drink producers there are seven classes for cider, perry, wine and spirits.

“We would dearly love to see the apple and pear growers of the region get behind us and enter their best culinary and desert fruit which make the show a real spectacle,” added Mr Powell.

The show is an addition to a busy programme of events in the town in the autumn that include the annual Applefest, the Mistletoe Festival and Sales at the end of November and in early December along with a busy time in the run up to Christmas with the switch-on of the Christmas lights, the Santa Parade and Pantomime.

This autumn’s show is on Friday, October 25 at Tenbury sports club and entries will be accepted up to 10.20am on the day.

Judging will be from 11am to 1pm when the show opens for public viewing prior to the produce auction at 2pm.

The downloadable

entry form is available at https://www.tenbury-countryside-show.co.uk/autumn-show