VIRTUAL SHOW DAY
Claire Eccles Chairman of Goosnargh and Longridge Show explains how the event has had to adapt to changing times and is now live with a virtual show-day on their website
Last November, after doing a variety of roles within the Goosnargh and Longridge Agricultural Show over the last two decades, Claire Eccles took on the role of Chairman.
“My first year hasn’t quite gone as I had expected! A few months into the role and we had to make the decision to cancel the show due to Covid-19,” recalls Claire.
It is not the first time the show has had to be cancelled – in 2001 it was due to foot and mouth and there was a year when the show-field was too waterlogged to hold the event. But in both of those years a few classes that could exhibit went ahead in the Civic Hall.
Claire explains: “It felt wrong to have no kind of show but what can you do in lockdown? Being a Twitter fan, I was following the progress of the Greatest Online Agricultural Show with interest. I wondered, could we do something like this?”
Claire contacted two committee members, Leo Redpath who runs the websites and Pippa Davis who runs the community section and the show’s online social media.
“Leo and Pippa worked wonders and came up with the Goosnargh and Longridge Virtual Show. The virtual show allowed the community to come together to enter a small number of classes in a small number of sections. All exhibits are in the form of photographs and the general theme is the countryside and farming.”
“It also has photographs from the other sections from previous years to showcase everything that is great about the show.”
The virtual Goosnargh and Longridge Agricultural Show went live on Saturday 11th July, and will remain on the website glashow.org.uk for a number of weeks for people to view.
Claire concludes: “Our virtual show had only a small selection of the usual sections and classes we run and we always welcome new members and exhibitors, so put a note in your diary to download next year’s schedule and come along on Saturday 10th July 2021.”
