04 October 2012

Crowds will flock to Ely Cathedral next weekend (October 13 and 14) to enjoy a taste of the countryside during the annual harvest festival celebrations.

A Celebration of Cambridgeshire Farming
Picture: NFU East Anglia

Sheep, spinning and weaving displays will take centre stage as the NFU links up with local organisations and companies to showcase the wide variety and high quality of produce grown in the Fens.

The theme this year is A Celebration of Cambridgeshire Farming. Sheep and chickens from Westmoor House Smallholding near Littleport will be taking up temporary home inside the Cathedral, alongside more than 30 displays of crops, fruit, vegetables and flowers.

Alongside the displays there will also be a vintage plough, photographs of farm scenes from the 1960s and free recipe booklets to take away. Organisations taking part this year include Cambridgeshire Beekeepers, the Farmland Museum at Denny Abbey, G’s Growers at Barway and Waitrose.

The packed weekend of food and farming also takes in Ely Farmers Market on Saturday 13 October and a potato race through the city centre, organised by Isle of Ely Produce, on the Saturday morning. For more information on that visit www.isleofely.co.uk

Events kick off at 7pm on Friday 12 October with harvest supper in the Lady Chapel. Tickets cost £10 for adults and £5 for children under 12 and they are available from the Cathedral box office on 01353 660349.

WONDER OF WOOL AT HARVEST CELEBRATION

The harvest festival exhibition is open from 10am to 5pm on Saturday 13 October and 12.30pm to 4pm on Sunday 14 October, the start of the harvest songs of praise service. Admission to the Cathedral is free on both days.

On Sunday visitors can enjoy a piano recital by Matthew McCombie in the South Transept at 2pm.

The Cathedral is asking for donations of non-perishable food items this year, which will be donated to the new Ely Food Bank while perishable items will be sold for charity at 12pm on Monday 15 October.

Charities supported by the harvest festival weekend this year are Farm Crisis Network and emergency medical charity MAGPAS.

For details and more information:

For further information please contact NFU public relations officer Brian Finnerty on 01638 672125 or Ely Cathedral marketing manager Lesley Ann Thompson on 01353 660350.

NFU East Anglia, Agriculture House, Willie Snaith Road, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 7SN
Regional public relations officer: Brian Finnerty
Telephone: 01638 672125 Mobile: 07721 869856
www.nfuonline.com

The NFU is the voice of British farming and provides professional representation and services to its farmer and grower members.

04 October 2012
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