The Rye Flower and Veg Show is getting ever nearer, and with Saturday, August 31 appearing on the horizon, we wanted to highlight some of the categories that younger growers, artists and cooks might like to get involved in too. We welcome entries from the younger generation and love the delight on children’s faces when they see their entries on display and just watch those grins widen if they are lucky enough to be awarded prizes.
Historically, there has been great success in the “funniest shaped vegetable” class with misshapen vegetables always raising a smile, perhaps set off with a pair of comically positioned googly eyes. This year, to mark the 20th year of the show, there’s the “five birthday cupcakes with a flower and veg theme” class – opening up lots of chances for creativity in icing and decorating, and if you’ve got some sunflowers growing at home then find your most impressive for the “biggest sunflower head” class – you never know!
If your little one is more into the arty side of things, then “a collage with an environment theme” might be more up their street. The collage class was a new one last year and proved popular with all ages. If they need some inspiration for this one, then they are sure to enjoy one of the “ways of seeing” collage workshops happening at the St Mary’s Centre in Rye this August. The “Eco not Ego” sessions, led by myself, will focus on the topical theme of the environment and children will produce an artwork that will be suitable for entry into the show, if they’d like. It would also give weary parents a chance for a quiet coffee during the seemingly endless summer holidays. Dates, costs and details of these workshops can be found here: https://www.waysofseeing.art/book-online.
The photography section offers some fun themes to work with– insects, waterways, celebrations, film titles and harvests are all possible options for an inventive, budding photographer to get involved. Decorative wreaths aren’t just for Christmas at the Rye Flower and Veg Show. This year we’ve asked for a wreath to be made using recycled or found objects. We’re really hoping for lots of inventive entries for this class. I’ve seen lots of lovely shell wreaths on the doors of Rye recently, so maybe a morning spent combing the beach before seeing what can be put together is one option, but I’m sure there are lots of other fun ideas out there! They could also get their paper and pens out to wish the show a happy 20th and enter the homemade birthday card class. We can’t wait to see them all and celebrate with you!
The school holidays have started and getting involved in your local show is a great way to feel part of our fabulous community and fill some holiday time producing the entries – it’s a win-win situation. We really do hope to see more children coming through the doors with their entries and can’t wait to see what they come up with. To help get the planning started here is a list of some of the classes in the show that are perfect for children to enter and what’s more, under 18s can enter as many as they want for free:
• The longest carrot
• The longest runner bean
• The funniest shaped vegetable
• The biggest sunflower head
• A display of garden flowers in an unusual container
• Five birthday cupcakes with a flower & veg theme
• Six chocolate brownies / blondies
• Themed photography
• Something made of wool
• A painting
• An environmental collage
• A 20th birthday card for the show
• A decorative wreath
For more details and a complete list of all the classes in the year’s show visit our website: https://ryeflowerandvegshow.co.uk/classes-and-prizes-2024/.
Image Credits: Rye Flower & Veg Show .