Smallholder and Garden Festival is eagerly awaited (From Smallholder)

Smallholder and Garden Festival is eagerly awaited

10:06am Friday 5th February 2010

Smallholders everywhere are eagerly looking forward to the next Smallholder and Garden Festival at Builth Wells set for May 15-16, 2010. Run by the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society, Smallholder is delighted to announce that the magazine continues as the official media partner for the 2010 show.

Preparation is well underway for the annual weekend event, with all the usual stands and attractions – including competitive sheep, cattle, pig, angora and dairy goat classes, allowing visitors to see the very best of all the breeds.

The pig feature is also a well established attraction of interest to both consumers and small flock keepers with the pig handling class being always well worth watching. For anyone thinking of getting started in any aspect of smallholding or growing, there is help on hand with a wide range of associations and individual advisors. There’s even a property road show where you can look at prices and availability.

A free programme of talks for all visitors last year covered such topics as jam making, poultry keeping and bees.

More than 22,000 attended the show last year, and in 2010 it is hoped that the event will be bigger and better with the introduction of scurry driving competitions and a poultry show. The event perimeter will also be extended to include for the first time the Blacksmithing and Farriery Pavilion, in which a programme of competitions and demonstrations will be organised by the The Welsh Farriers & Blacksmiths Association.

The Green Horizon (Eco) Exhibition, food hall featuring the farmers markets, floral hall and dance festival will be packed with activity and interest. Many breed societies attend and offer free advice to visitors as well as the Smallholder Range Poultry Care corner; the Daily Mail and ITV Gardening Question Time and the many long standing stewards and exhibitors in the sections who can offer a helping hand.

So whether you are interested in llamas, alpacas or conventional breeds of livestock, poultry, ferrets, shearing, halter making, rope making, pets, vintage machinery and implements or crafts there is something for everybody.

Visit www.rwas.co.uk for more info or check out the updates on www.smallholder.co.uk.

Folk Dance Festival 2010 will see the third Folk Dance Festival staged as part of the Royal Welsh Smallholder and Garden Festival at the Showground in Llanelwedd.

The Dance Festival Programme is designed to appeal to everyone, whether you simply want to take the weight of your feet and sit and watch or accept the invitation of the dancers and take the opportunity to 'have a go’.

There will be a variety of demonstrations catering for those who would like to try out their skills. There is a choice of Cornish, Irish, Welsh, Scottish, Morris, Appallation and Old English sequence dancing.

Each dance tradition will be demonstrated by enthusiastic dancers who will invite members of the audience to 'have a go'. Dancing will take place in the Montgomery Pavilion each morning and afternoon.

All the dance groups will get together on Saturday night for a Ceilidh when each group will take it in turns to lead the dances. Should you like to come to the Ceilidh please come to the Montgomery Pavilion between 7.30pm and 10.30pm. This is a wonderful way to 'come alive', after a busy day at the festival also an opportunity to meet old friends and make new ones.

We are pleased to announce new dance teams to the festival this year, Carreg Las is a Morris team who hail from Abercych near Cardigan. They favour the Border Morris tradition and apart from presenting a very colourful team are most enthusiastic. They know the reason for their disguise? If you ask them they will tell you.

Ros Keltic, Cornish Dancers pay their first visit to the Royal Welsh Showground as do the Kilkenny dance groups from Ireland. If you enjoyed 'Riverdance' and 'Lord of the Dance' come along and enjoy the Irish Step Dancers and traditional Irish Set Dances.

We are fortunate to have return visits from local dance groups including 'Something's Afoot' from Rhayader who will present Appalachian dancing, the Scottish Country Dance group, 'Celtic Links and the Old English sequence dancers from Garth.

All the groups have their own musicians and this year 'Celtic Links' will be accompanied by Phill Jones (Squeezy Piano) from Cambridge.

Each day after lunch will be a parade, weather permitting, and this year the parade will be led by a piper from Cheltenham, Alastair Shaw. If you don't see him coming then should definatly hear him.

We look forward to seeing you at The Folk Dance Festival in the Montgomery Pavilion, where a warm welcome awaits you.

Smallholder and Garden Festival is eagerly awaited (From Smallholder)

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