Dear parents and carers,

We have been asked to let you know about the Virtual Shropshire Show. It is on 22nd
August and offers fun and entertainment for all the family, as well as being a real
celebration of the greatest and best of what Shropshire is about, and raising money for
some of Shropshire’s charities – please take a look at the website –
www.shropshirevirtualshow.com there are competitions: dog show, open gardens, horse
show, Shropshire’s got talent, and Arts and crafts. Some great main arena acts, which will
be shown on the day and a 200 stand strong shopping village. Music in the evening after
wine tasting with Tanners and cocktail making lessons with Ludlow gin – hopefully there are
lots of opportunities for you to get involved.
If the children did not create masterpieces during lockdown which you can upload, they
have almost 3 weeks to create them now and get them entered! Not to mention perfecting
their talents and sharing their brilliance with video entries in the Shropshire’s got talent
show – and if they don’t really have a stage presence, maybe their dogs do – and can enter
the dog show! It is fun for all the family in the lead up to the 22nd and then a mega “day
out” – from the comfort of your own home on 22nd August. The website actually stays live
for the whole of the following week too if you did not manage to see all the dog show
highlights and get to the 200th stand in the shopping village!

In the main arena there is a great variety of performance throughout the day – from cooking
with Marcus Bean, celebrity chef, and Saliha Mahmood Ahmed who won masterchef in
2017, to Theatrick Horse Productions, an equestrian arts company; from Upper Cut Fight
Company a film fight stunt company to Paul “silky” White the comedian; from a virtual choir
to a circus and many more yet to confirm. This moves on into the evening music
entertainment. Invite people into your garden on the evening of 22nd and share the fun?

In “Through the keyhole” enjoy sneaky behind the scenes “visits” to some of Shropshire’s
top tourist attractions – they have all struggled with Covid19 closure and are whetting your
appetite to get people visiting again – places you have been, places you didn’t know
existed...

The competition entries are now live on the website:

There is a horse arena – with lots of competitions for all abilities and demos from a
Four star eventer, a blacksmith and a paralympian gold medallist among others.
There is a dog show – photo and video entries to cater for all tastes – everyone has a dog
that could enter one of the categories, and again demos in between with useful hints and
tips like “how to stop your dog jumping up” There will be highlights commentated by one of
Shropshire’s great wits.
There is an arts and crafts tent – with winning entries going to the Weston Park Gallery of
Discovery Exhibition in the Granary funded by Arts Council England in September and lots
for summer holiday kids to enjoy, enter and win. Demos from some of the counties premier
artists and craftsmen
Shropshire’s got talent speaks for itself – whether you were born with a talent, spent years
developing one or learnt to play Bobby Shaftoe on the comb through your nostrils during
lockdown!! something for everyone
The final competition is the Open Gardens – so many people have beautiful gardens that
they have not been able to share this summer – just take an iphone for a walk around your
garden, fill in the anonymised form and share what you have created. Chelsea gold winning
Caspar Gabb is one of the judges in the competition and will also take you on a tour of his
fantastic garden.

There are also 200 business stands in the virtual shopping village. You may just want to
shop, but for those wanting to book a stand they just need to go to
https://shropshirevirtual.expofp.com/ choose a stand and follow the online payment
instructions.

Obviously there is no obligation whatsoever, but if you are tempted then great - it is about
having some fun, and pulling together for our charities and our County. The more you can
share it too, and get friends and family involved, the more the organisers will be grateful.
The window for competition entries closes in three weeks so it is now or never!