The number one event for smallholding, gardening and sustainable living, the Royal Welsh Spring Festival, will this year be held on 16 and 17 May and is already proving to be a very popular weekend-long event in the spring show season.

A celebration of rural life, the two-day festival, with its action-packed programme of entertainment and educational activities, free workshops, displays and main ring performances offers the perfect family day out.

With over 1,300 livestock, poultry and horses, hundreds of tradestands, the only Premier Open Dog Show to be held in Wales, children’s activities, a food and drink quarter, vintage machinery, auction, country leisure and much more, the event has something for everyone whatever your interest or passion.

Continually developing and expanding, the ‘new look’ Spring Festival for 2015 will have:.

• A new dedicated Smallholders Centre, located in the South Glamorgan Exhibition Hall, designed specifically to cater for up-and-running and aspiring smallholders with tradestands, stock, feed, advisory bodies, farming sundries, machinery, smallholder magazines and publications, a property roadshow, talks, demonstrations, advice clinics and our ‘getting started’ stand.

• A new Food and Drink Quarter, situated at the heart of the event in the purpose built food hall. Packed full of artisan produce made and sourced in Wales and the border counties, including a ‘street food’ area – the perfect place to indulge and stop by for a bite to eat.

• A new location for the Sustainable Living section, in the Clwyd Glamorgan Hall, which will now include an additional outdoor area to showcase the very best companies, ideas, workshops and demonstrations to those wishing to live a sustainable way of life.

• A new Country Life area, in the Forestry Area, with demonstrations, interactive activities and tradestands will be created for those seeking to pass the time with pursuits such as shooting, dog training, woodland activities, and much more … • For the first time the increasingly popular horse section will be extended to include competitions in the main ring and the horse ring with working hunter and show jumping classes and for the first time, an affiliated CHAPS (Coloured Horse and Pony Society) Mid Wales Regional Show.

• Bring the children to meet Tractor Ted on his very first visit to Wales and enjoy the children friendly areas allowing our younger visitors the freedom to learn and explore in a safe environment whilst their parents take a break from walking around the festival.

• A new, dedicated craft and shopping pavilion will be opened in the Montgomery Pavilion – the ideal place to browse the wide range of local and handmade goods on offer for that perfect gift or a treat for yourself.

• A new Royal Welsh Spring Half Marathon, 10k trail race and family run, along with a children’s athletic activity area will be held in conjunction with Welsh Athletics on the Sunday of the festival.

• A third sheep judging ring has been introduced to accommodate the increasing number of classes and entries and a new stand alone section for Herdwick Sheep and a Novice Sheep –‘Have a Go’ section.

• New classes for Large Whites and interbreeds have been created in the pig section.

• New for this year there will also be Boer Goat classes in the goat section and a display of Bagot goats on the Coleg Cambria stand – making the festival one of the only places in the UK where you can see the whole goat family together.

• Vintage tractors, stationary engines, classic cars, lorries, motorbikes and bicycles, old gardening equipment, tools and classic caravans.

• A pet exhibition providing help and advice on all aspects of small livestock, including breeding, showing and general care.

• Welsh Federation Poultry and Waterfowl Spring Show (Sat) and poultry auction (Sun).

• 300+ tradestands throughout the site provide plenty of opportunities to enjoy a shopping spree while visiting the festival. From clothing to machinery, livestock equipment to wellies, hen houses to books, visitors will find everything for the smallholder and gardener in one place.

The Royal Welsh Spring Festival will take place at the showground in Llanelwedd, Builth Wells on 16 and 17 May. Tickets can be purchased in advanced online: www.rwas.co.uk