|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For details of the 2010 Festival - please click Programme.......... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ STOP PRESS....... ASPARAGUS FESTIVAL SHORTLISTED FOR NATIONAL AWARD
The British Asparagus Festival in the Vale of Evesham has been nominated for an award which recognises and celebrates the more eccentric events throughout the uk. As you know the Asparagus Festival has become one of the most important and popular events in the Calendar - Last year it created over £500,000 worth of media coverage - and I promise you - 2010 will be NO exception.................
To help us beat Shakespears Birthday Celebrations; the Wenlock Olympics and the Thomas Veil Horse Grand National to name just a few - PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE could EVERYONE vote for the Asparagus Festival.
To register your vote please email heartofengland@europe.mccann.com and type ASPARAGUS in the title.
Please will you forward this link to ALL of your friends, colleagues, family members and work colleagues and get them to vote for us as well. The deadline for voting is 31st January 2010
***************************************************************************************************** ASPARAMANCERS' PREDICTIONS FOR 2010
ASPARAMANCER’S TASTY TIPS FOR 2010
Celebrating the fact it is one of the finalists in the Where Else But England Awards, Worcestershire’s Asparagus Festival has called on Jemima Packington, asparamancer extraordinaire to predict its chances of winning. Jemima has also looked at what is likely to be hitting the headlines in 2010 and what the year holds for the rest of us. ROYAL FAMILY There will be a Royal engagement surprise and also a high-profile Royal health scare or death POLITICS Brown will be ousted in the General Election but there will be a hung Parliament The economy will continue on slow burn with no quick return to high rates of interest SPORT Manchester United will win the Carling Cup and England will go OUT in the first or second World Cup round.
CELEBRITY Susan Boyle will announce her engagement Cheryl Cole will reveal she is pregnant but there will be speculation over whothe father is George Clooney & Helen Mirren will win Oscars WEATHER The UK will experience an extended heatwave which will see a melt down in many cities Commenting on her fortune telling skills, Jemima Packington said: “Vale of Evesham asparagus is not in season at the moment and I refuse to use anything else. I have made my predictions using asparagus sausages which might account for some small anomalies” “As for whether the Asparagus Festival will win the award, that relies on people voting for them by sending an email to heartofengland@europe.mccann.com making sure they put ‘Asparagus’ in the title. We’re up against the likes of Shakespeare’s Birthday Celebrations in Stratford but we definitely have the quirkiness factor working in our favour”. The festival, which takes place each year on St George’s Day, is part of a two month-long celebration of the King of Vegetables. The event is vitally important to tourism in the region and brings together a host of businesses in and around the Vale of Evesham.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RECORD CROWDS AT 2009 FESTIVAL EVENT Asparamania hit the Vale of Evesham over the Bank Holiday with record crowds attending Asparagus events at The Fleece Inn at Bretforton. On Sunday evening, for the first time in three years, the sun shone - bidders came from far and wide, and the world famous Asparagus Auction in aid of the villages' Band was held in the courtyard of this NT pub. Throughout the evening the Pebworth Morris Dancers and the Bretforton Silver Band delighted the gathered crowds and bundles of the Vales' finest "Gras" were proudly sold by local auctioneer Colin Jelfs for record amounts
Asparamadness continued at The Fleece with Festival Day on Bank Holiday Monday - thousands of people flocked to this delightful village pub for a fun day out for all the family. Many recognisable faces met visitors as they enjoyed a plethora of asparagus related activities, including Christine Walkden, resident Gardening Guru from the popular BBC weekday programme "The One Show" who were filming at the Festival for a special Vale Asparagus feature that will be aired week commencing 1st June Local celebrity and great friend of the Festival - Henry Sandon opened the days celebrations and also hosted his own very popular Roadshow throughout the afternoon. Asparagus cookery demonstrations were performed by The Food Genie to packed marquees Jemima Packington - the Worlds only Asparamancer delighted young and old as she pronounced their destinies from the fall of the spears!!! Gus - the Asparagus Man and the adorable Hook Norton Horses were as popular as ever and overjoyed hundreds of people who posed for photographs with them all. Nigel Smith - Landlord of the Fleece Inn said "We have had an incredible weekend - with all the National and International interest that Vale Asparagus has pioneered in recent months, people have came from all over the World especially for the Festival and I'm confident they have left very happy. We were so fortunate that the weather was kind to us, and the atmosphere that surrounded the Fleece this weekend was one of fun, laughter and packed with entertainment, tradition, arts & crafts, local ales, ciders, wines and of course most important of all, and what they all came for - local Asparagus................."
‘An Ode to Asparagus’by Trevor Harrison aka Eddie Grundy from "The Archers"
You make no sound, you make no fuss, O great and noble asparagus. Upon this date, to you we hail The finest spears in this fine vale. You are so grand, so pure and able And you can grace any great table. Your flavour is famous but it would be kinder If I knew a way to make asparagus cider! You have got what every vegetable doth desire, To be planted, born and bred it fairest Worcestershire!
The Vale of Evesham puts the "spear" into Shakespeare!
Worcestershires' Vale of Evesham celebrated St Georges' Day in style with the great and the good from across the county congregating beneath the towns inconic Bell Tower. Not only does the 23rd April celebrate our Patron Saint, it also signifies the start of the English Asparagus Season and the beginning of the British Asparagus Festival in the Vale of Evesham. Launching the two month long Festival , the Great English Asparagus Run - comprising of 3 Morgan Motor Cars who were carrying some very important passengers..... the Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire; Mr Michael Brinton, his wife Angela and the "100" round of fine Vale Asparagus (the first outdoor cut of the season from Birlingham Nurseries, nr Pershore) and a group of runners from the Evesham Vale Running Club carrying their "Asparatorches" made their way to nearby Stratford on Avon where the Lord Lieutenant and the Mayor of Evesham Cllr Alan Booth, presented the "Round of Gras" to Cllr Mrs Joyce Taylor, Mayor of Stratford in honour of the Shakespeare birthday celebrations.
Back in Evesham - Asparamania had really hit town ....... St George, Gus the Asparagus man, along with Jemima Packington - the worlds' only Asparamancer and crowds of asparamad wellwishers were enjoying not only music of the Avonbank Band, Morris Dancing with the Pebworth Morris Men
patriotic songs by local artist Bruno Gallone and the premier performance of "The Ode to Asparagus" by Trevor Harrison - better known to addicts as Eddie Grundy from the ever popular long unning BBC radio series The Archers
- they were also having their tastebuds tickled by the new Vale Porker - an Asparagus sausage made by Abbey Butchers from Pershore and Asparagus Scones and Jam made by Wayside Farm Shop from Wickhamford.
STOP PRESS!!! The Hairy Bikers dropped into Revills Farm Shop at Defford to film for a new series due to be aired later this year. Revills being one of the few places in the Country where you can buy the rare purple variety of asparagus - this was the ideal location for the guys to film. Filming took place at the Farmshop and in the asparagus fields where Si and Dave used asparabuggies to cut the "Gras" The idea behind the programme is to film from the field to the plate and the Bikers later filmed at Belle House in Pershore
Links and further details of all events can be found in the Programme section of this website
Join Our Mailing ListBy joining our mailing list, you will be the first to know about:
To join, complete the form on the Contact Us page.
|
|
