Purbeck’s largest village fete drew a crowd of thousands when it went ahead in perfect conditions on bank holiday Monday, 26th August 2024.
Following a weekend of wet and windy weather, a brighter and warmer day on Monday set the scene perfectly for Harmans Cross village fete and flower show, an event which has become an unmissable date on the summer calendar.
A few of the stalls and attractions which make Harmans Cross Fete such a huge attraction
Dorset band JDJ – Jon, Don and Jon – provided music for the afternoon
Record crowd may be near 6,000 people
It is believed that a record crowd of close to 6,000 visitors attended the event, organised by around 120 local residents, to enjoy music, entertainment, games, refreshments and much more.
Bouncy castles, craft stalls, a very popular Pimms bar, produce stalls, a children’s magic show and dog agility displays kept everyone happy for the afternoon, but for many the highlight was a huge gardening, cookery and craft show.
With more than 150 different categories to enter, the show tent was filled with amazing produce, much of it grown in a year which has not been ideal for gardening.
But during the judging session in the first 90 minutes of the show, the overall standard of entries was highly praised as it became difficult to choose the overall winners in many categories.
A profuse pot plant section gave the show tent a tropical feel
More than 30 vegetable classes show what a wide variety of produce is grown in village gardens
Popular flower and produce show
Jane Ellwood, of the Harmans Cross flower, vegetable, cookery and craft show, said:
“Although the flower show comes under the umbrella of the fete, we run our own show and it has become so popular that it takes a huge amount of organisation.
“Obviously everyone who enters wants to come in to see their work being displayed, but we also think that most people who are at the fete walk into the flower show at some point during the day, so we literally see thousands of people.
“It was a fantastic day, although it was long and very tiring – many of us were there for 11 hours on Monday and we were up at the village hall on Sunday as well, setting things up.”
Many of the show entries were said to be of a national standard
So much to admire from local flower growers and arrangers
Entries were at a national standard
Jane added:
“Perhaps some of our vegetables were not quite as large as they have been in the past, but it has been a very difficult growing year with all the wind and the rain, but show entries as a whole were up on previous years.
“We were very pleased with the standard of our entries, we have some very talented people living in the village and in particular the floral arrangements are superb. We have lovely comments from locals and visitors alike who tell us how much they enjoy the show.
“We have a professional judge, Pat Cherret, who always rates the standard of our floral displays very highly and Gerald Edwards, who judges our vegetables, fruit and cut flower section, said that a lot of our entries are at national standard.”
Danusia Short won the Purbeck Cup for the most outstanding exhibit in the cut flower section
Double winner Janet Dyke took the Poseybowl Cup for the best exhibit in flower arrangement, and the Flower Arrangement Trophy
Vegetable, flower and fruit winners
Liz Goldsack won the Holme Nurseries Cup for the most outstanding vegetable exhibit, the Complete Gardener Trophy for the most points in vegetable, flowers, pot plants and fruit sections, the Meadowside Cup for the best vegetable collection and the Haycraft Cup for best in the home made produce section.
Benjamin Stokes won the Fruit Cup for the best exhibit in the fruit section and the David Gould Award for the most outstanding dahlia.
Liz Hill won the Floral Cup for the second highest total of points in the flower arrangement section and a £10 cash prize for the highest total of points in floral art, home made produce and craftwork sections.
Helen Selby took a £5 cash prize for the second highest points total in the same categories and also the Dragon’s Bakery Trophy for most points in the home made produce section.
Malcolm Dando was awarded the Woodyhyde Trophy for best photograph in the show
Prize winning flower arrangements brightened up the show tent
Outstanding flower arrangements
David Chambers won the June Rose Cup for the most outstanding exhibit in the pot plant section, while Jane Ellwood won the Colerne Cup for the second highest number of points in the vegetable, flowers, plants and fruit sections.
Sue Johnson won the Foley Trophy for most points in the craftwork section; the Woodyhyde Trophy for the most outstanding photograph was won by Malcolm Dando; and S Peters won the Dunshay Manor Trophy for the most outstanding craftwork exhibit.
The Purbeck Cup for the most outstanding exhibit in the cut flower section was won by Danusia Short, while the Poseybowl Cup for the most outstanding exhibit in flower arrangement, and the Flower Arrangement Trophy for the most points in the flower arranging section were won by Janet Dyke.
Radio presenter David Hollister was back behind the microphone again
Monsters made from fruit and vegetables were favourites on the children’s stand
Prizes announced by David Hollister
In the children’s section, Poppy Barnes won the Junior Cup for most points in the under six years section; Beatrix Pike won the Barnhill Cup for most points in the six to ten years section and Alessid Franceschini Rees won the Greenways Cup for most points in the children and teenagers classes.
Most of the flowers and produce was auctioned off at the end of the fete to help raise more fund for village hall funds.
Prizes were announced by local celebrity David Hollister, who was once again back behind the microphone for the show.
A grand raffle with a top prize of £250 raised money for the fete’s chosen charity, Mosaic, which helps families deal with the impact of a death, by providing qualified counsellors who talk with children to help them understand and deal with feelings of grief and anxiety.
Speedy Edie flew around the dog agility course
While the bar was understandably set a little lower for some other entrants
“This is the crunch point for us”
Mosaic’s chief executive officer Jo Revil said:
“We are reaching out to our supporters this summer with a major fundraising appeal so we can continue to support children struggling to deal with the death of someone close to them.
“But the demand for the service is now outstripping Mosaic’s ability to provide free access to counsellors and we need to raise £100,000 this year in order to continue to provide care, advice and support at a time when costs are rising steeply and other funds have stopped.
“This is the crunch point for us now. We’ve had a 47 per cent increase in the number of children and young people being referred to us for help, compared with the same period in 2023.
“We want to continue to exist for Dorset, and for Dorset’s children. The services we offer can transform a child’s life and their life chances, but we cannot be sure of meeting that need if we can’t raise the money.”
A traditional coconut shy proved tricky for many
And bouncing pingpong balls into flowerpots wasn’t much easier
There was a great selection of reading matter in the sales tent
And a very popular Pimms tent was open to quench thirsts on a warm afternoon
Further information
- Harmans Cross Village Hall website shows community spirit at its very best
- Find out more about the fete’s chosen charity Mosaic
