One of the summer’s biggest country shows is back with parachute displays, motocross events and a load of thrilling events for the whole family. The Cotswold Show and Food Festival is less than a month away and organisers say it is their biggest yet.
On the first Saturday and Sunday of next month (July 1-2), tens of thousands will descend on the 40 acres of the Bathurst Estate for a weekend of live music, food and thrilling attractions, including a daredevil parachute display by the REME Lightning Bolts Army Parachute Display Team, who will be performing in the main area of the festival on both days.
This will be the show’s 34th year and it is one of the county’s most popular, with many of the different features the people love country shows for, with everything from local produce to dog shows and Morris dancing. Tickets for the show can be purchased on the gate for £15, though they are cheaper on their website.
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The ‘REME Lightning Bolts’ display will see Soldiers and Officers of the Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers jump from thousands of feet up in the sky for their display, descending with trailing red smoke. The REME team will also be bringing their army climbing wall for anyone to have a go on.
Also new this year in the main arena is the adrenaline filled ‘Squib Freestyle Motocross’ aerobatic display team, performing radical stunts with a floorshow, which have multi-rider line-ups and is choreographed to music with a commentary to add to the thrilling visual impact that Squibb Freestyle provides.
Returning for the first time since Covid is the ‘British Scurry and Trials Driving Team’, which will see teams of ponies and carriages racing against the clock around a course of cones to fight to win the fastest time.
Equestrian enthusiasts can also revel in the wonders of the famous Ben Atkinson Action Horses, celebrating true connection, the horse and all its power and grace.
For the foodies, the show’s Food Festival tent will be crammed with a huge range of delicious produce and beverages, selling a marvellous selection of food and drink including charcuterie, cheeses from around the world, artisan bakers, flavoured gins, ice creams, homemade pies, ciders, truffles, scotch eggs, champagne and sweet treats.
For all the budding chefs attending this year’s show, the exciting live Cookery Theatre will be presenting cookery demonstrations all weekend. There will be cookery demonstrations by talented chefs from the new restaurant in Cirencester Park, Roots & Seeds; Cirencester based cookery school, The Old Bakehouse; award-winning sustainable wild venison supplier, Deerbox; multi-award-winning food artist, Edible by Aggy; organic beef farm, Everess Farm; authentic Thai food restaurant, Apinya’s Thai Kitchen; and award-winning chefs from the Lygon Arms, where James Martin has recently taken up residence.
Outside the main arenas, there will be hundreds of stalls, attractions and interactive activities, including tree climbing, wall climbing, archery, shooting, traditional countryside craftsmen such as beekeepers, blacksmiths, weavers and lacemakers, a petting farm, dog shows, falconry, Morris dancers, horse whispering, steam engines, vintage tractors, and plenty of shopping opportunities.
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