Press Releases for 2010 Festival
Evesham Asparagus Family Fun Run
BRITISH ASPARAGUS FESTIVAL CELEBRATIONS: DOGGY STYLE
Staff and resident Rovers at Dogs Trust Evesham are spearheading crazy canine celebrations at this year’s British Asparagus Festival.
Canine carers at the charity have named an adorable Spaniel puppy Gus in honour of the venerable vegetable and from 16th April the centre will extend its opening hours until 7pm every Friday.
Visitors who book or rehome a dog between 4-7pm on a Friday will receive a free bunch of asparagus as well as free dog food for their new canine chum.
Staff have even invented a special asparagus recipe so dogs can join the celebrations. Local chef Dean Cole of Eckington Manor Cookery School will serve the special asparagus dish to all canine visitors at the Great English Asparagus Run taking place at Evesham’s Abbey Park on 23rd April.
Centre Manager Chris Slight explains:
“Evesham is renowned for its wonderful asparagus and we thought it was about time man’s best friend joined the local community in the celebrations!
We’re urging visitors to take advantage of our new extended Friday opening hours to come and see Gus and find out more about the charity.”
Angela Tidmarsh, organiser of the British Asparagus Festival in the Vale of Evesham, adds:
“We’re absolutely thrilled that Dogs Trust are showing such great support for this year’s festival and are delighted to have a dog named in honour of our very own mascot, Gus the Asparagus Man!”
The asparagus recipe is as follows and can be found on the Dogs Trust blog.
Dogs Trust’s Chicken and Asparagus Delight
Ingredients
Preparation
For more information visit Dogs Trust Evesham at 89 Pitcher’s Hill, Wickhamford, Evesham, Worcs, WR11 7RT, call 01386 830 613 or visit www.dogstrust.org.uk
ENDS
Asparagus campaigns to be official St George's Day symbolApril 2010 April 23rd, St Georges Day, is also the official start of the English asparagus season and the renowned Asparagus Festival in the Vale of Evesham. Festivities begin with The Great English Asparagus Run on the morning of 23rd April which captures the essence of British eccentricity. This year, the Asparagus Festival is campaigning for asparagus to become the official symbol of St George’s Day. Following research, it was found that 90% of people associate the red rose with the Labour Party, so some participants of The Great English Asparagus Run will be wearing asparagus button-holes to mark the start of the campaign. A host of English goings-on including tastings featuring asparagus sausages, scones, jam and cake will be free for everyone. Perhaps the most unusual food on offer will be asparagus dog food - a recipe created by The Dog’s Trust who have a large re-homing centre near Evesham. It will be cooked up and served on the day by Revills’ Farm Shop of Defford and Eckington Manor Cookery School. As well as making asparagus the official symbol for the day, there are hopes it will also be adopted as the official food, so becoming to St George’s Day what Guinness is to St Patrick’s Day. The campaign has extensive backing including the likes of St George’s Unofficial Bank Holiday. The world’s only fortune-telling asparamancer, an original artist from Royal Worcester painting asparagus on mugs and tiles, Archer’s actors, Trevor Harrison and Hedli Niklaus reading odes to asparagus as written by Worcestershire poets will also form part of the attractions. In addition, a convoy of Morgan cars, Morris Dancers, a brass band, St George himself, Gus the Asparagus man and Bruno Gallone, singing the song he has penned for the England World Cup team, are just some of the additional George’s Day activities. The launch takes place in Worcestershire's Vale of Evesham, the home of English asparagus, renowned for being the tastiest in the world. Not only is asparagus important to the region’s growers, it also attracts huge numbers of tourists throughout the season and scores of regional businesses become involved. Everyone is welcome to attend and it’s completely free of charge. A ‘100’ round of Birlingham Nursery’s finest asparagus spears - the first pick of the season - will be 'blessed' by Worcestershire's Lord Lieutenant, Michael Brinton, before being taken by the Morgan car convoy to Brighton where it will be presented to VisitEngland chairman, Lady Cobham, there to announce the winners of the Enjoy England for Excellence 2010 Awards. Commenting on the event, organiser and tourism officer for the area, Angela Tidmarsh, said:
Celebrations continue throughout the asparagus season, which ends on Midsummer’s Day in June.
ENDS For further information and images, please contact Sara Stewart on 07833 467774. Press coverage of the FestivalClick here to see Jemima Packington in action The following press coverage is available to view concerning the Great English Asparagus Run BBC NEWS England Fresh asparagus marks the day Details of all forthcoming events and pictures from the Great English Asparagus Run can be found on the Festival website www.britishasparagusfestival.org or by calling 01386 565373.
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