CountryTastic Is A Roaring Success 9th April 2010

The Three Counties Agricultural Society’s third Easter holiday food, farming and countryside event, proved a roaring success on April 8, as almost 4,000 youngsters and their families turned out to enjoy a day of action-packed entertainment and hands-on education.

The sun shone down on CountryTastic 2010 – an annual one-day interactive spectacular, designed to reconnect children to the sources of the food they eat, and teach them about the environment in which they live.

Children from in and around the three counties came with their mums, dads and grandparents to enjoy everything from egg decorating, cake-making, hay twisting and wood turning, to tractor trailer rides, dray horse rides and terrier racing.

There was also plenty of opportunity to meet and pet handsome cattle, kune kune pigs, sheepdog pups, Shetland ponies and newborn lambs!

BBC Countryfile presenter, Adam Henson, was at the Show, and shared the commentary for the popular Livestock Parade, with farmer Clive Davies, who keeps the Westwood herd of Herefords at Mamble, near Kidderminster.

Adam said: “CountryTastic is a wonderful event that helps to re-connect young people with food, farming and the rural domain - a topic that is very close to my heart. I was delighted to be involved in such a well organised fun and educational day.”

The Countryfile crew were at the Show filming Adam in action, so CountryTastic should hit the big screen later on this month.

New for this year was live stage act, ‘The Sheep Show’, complete with dancing sheep, which attracted a good crowd for every performance.

In fact, wool was a central theme for 2010, and new attractions included the fabulous ‘Murmuring Wheel’ display of sheep to garment demonstrations, with an exhibition of spinning wheels.

CountryTastic aims to show people the link between food and farms, and helps promote British agriculture to a new generation. For many children and their families events like CountryTastic, are a great opportunity to experience the countryside and its treasures first-hand.

Other attractions this year included the Cyril the Squirrel Terrier Racing Display – a hilarious canine version of flat racing - and ‘Museum on the Move’ – a bus with a memory-themed exhibition aboard, entitled ‘Remember Your Memories Matter’.

Favourites such as Gus Dermody’s Sheep Dog Display, Al Boden and the Organic Hillbillies, and the Mid-Western Gundog Society, were back by popular demand.

The Malvern Showground is now preparing for its Three Counties Show in June (18 – 20), which will feature the Discovery Zone with more educational fun for children of all ages.

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