Richmond Town Hall was filled with home-grown produce, flowers and baking at the weekend as residents turned out to support this year’s Richmond Produce Show.
The event was held on Saturday following the traditional First Fruits Ceremony and attracted a large number of entries from across the community.
Organisers Cllr Carl Tate and Richmond deputy mayor Cllr Loo Morton said they were delighted with the response and are already looking at ways to build on the success of the show in future years.
Cllr Tate said: “We were genuinely over the moon with the response. When you organise something like this, you never quite know how many people are going to get involved, so to see the Town Hall filled with so many fantastic entries was wonderful.
“What made it particularly special was seeing people coming together, looking at the displays, talking about the different entries and simply enjoying a good old-fashioned community event.
“A huge thank you must go to every single person who entered. Whether you brought along something you had grown, baked, arranged or created, you helped make the day what it was.”
Organisers said they hoped the event would encourage even more people to enter in future, stressing that the show was about taking part rather than entrants needing to be experts.
Following Saturday’s event, work could also take place to revive another part of Richmond’s produce show tradition.
Historic shows in the town saw successful exhibitors presented with silver cups and trophies.
The whereabouts and history of the trophies are known and organisers are now exploring whether they could be brought back into use and awarded at future shows.
Cllr Tate said: “For me, that would be absolutely fantastic. These trophies are part of Richmond’s history and were made to be competed for and presented.
“Rather than simply being part of the past, wouldn’t it be wonderful to see them brought back, polished up and once again presented to people from our community?
“It would create a real link between the generations who entered Richmond’s produce shows years ago and the people who are taking part today.”
He added: “Richmond is a town which is rightly proud of its traditions, but the best way to keep a tradition alive is to use it, celebrate it and encourage a new generation to become part of it.”
Organisers thanked everyone who entered, helped with the show or visited the Town Hall, and said they hoped the Produce Show would continue to grow and become a regular fixture in Richmond’s calendar.
