FOLLOWING two years of poor turnouts due to heavy rain, a year hiatus was taken by the organisers of the historic Berkeley Show to enable a new team to put into place its plans for a revamped event.

The most noticeable change is the change of date, for decades held on the August bank holiday weekend, the show will take place in June from now on in a bid to draw in even bigger crowds.

Changes have been led through a new-look organising committee after many previous members stood down following the 2015 show.

With an average age of 39, the team of about 20 organisers has put together a programme of events which consists of some significant changes but also keeps traditional elements to the show which have kept people attending for generations.

Family has been the main focus for the committee and next week’s show, being held on Sunday, June 25, will host a kid’s zone featuring a variety of entertainment for children.

For even younger families there will also be a ‘baby chill-out zone’, a space away from the crowds to take a break.

Like in the past there will be plenty of traders setting up shop at the show but this year the number has almost doubled to a record of about 100 featuring a variety of goods to whet your appetite.

Refreshments have also undergone a major change, as the new committee this year decided to only allow food stands from independent, local traders - moving away from the usual food vans.

There will also be a ‘local beer and cider celebration tent’ - a mini beer festival in its own right, featuring beer and cider from a host of breweries based mere miles from the show’s Berkeley Castle site.

Organiser Kat Hart said that they had put a real emphasis on localising the show while making it more child-friendly in an attempt to draw in larger crowds.

“We wanted to try and make it really designed for families to widen the show’s appeal,” she said.

The showground will open at 10am with entertainment starting at 11am. Proceedings will draw to a close at 4pm.

Tickets for Berkeley Show are available to purchase on the gates but are also available before the show online for a 20 per cent discount. 

To buy tickets visit berkeleyshow.co.uk/tickets-and-contacts.html
Show organisers have said that with less than two weeks to go until the show day, ticket sales so far have been strong.

They are hoping to attract about 10,000 people through the gates over the course of the day.

More information about the Berkeley Show and the events planned for the revamped show are available on the event website berkeleyshow.co.uk