HISTORIC COUNTRY SHOW TO CELEBRATE FARMING AND FOOD

An agricultural show which was first held in Lancashire more 200 years ago will launch again later.

The Garstang Show aims to bring the local community together to celebrate the role of farming, food and the countryside.

Events in the main ring will include horse and cattle shows, and a history of agriculture through the decades will show off a display of tractors and vintage farm machinery.

Exhibitor Emma Benson said: "It's a very important event. We love supporting our local shows, getting out and meeting all the local people."

The first Garstang Show was held in 1813 and featured sweepstakes and prizes or “premiums” - dished out for the most impressive crops and stock.

Rivalry from other local shows in Goosnargh, Lytham and Gt Eccleston caused entries and attendances to decline and shows lapsed around 1840, before re-starting about 1855.

Secretary Gill Billington said one highlights of this year's one-day spectacular is "a performance where you can see tractors through the ages".

She said: "We start with the vintage from the 1950s showing how tractors, farming and agriculture has changed, and showing the different machines and how things have progressed.

"And we will end showing the next generation of farmers and how they are going to take on the mantle and move food production forward."

Organiser Helen Smith said there will be about 1,000 entries in the horticulture marquee "ranging from floral art to people growing fruit and vegetables".

"There's a lot of work goes in to putting it all together", she added. "But it's an absolute spectacle."

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HISTORIC COUNTRY SHOW TO CELEBRATE FARMING AND FOOD

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