ORGANISERS of the Wessex Midsummer Vintage Show are appealing for a venue who can host the show next year.
The hugely popular event usually takes place at the White Horse Country Park in the third weekend of June but organisers are now searching for a 14-acre space to host the show following development work on the site taking place at that time next year.
Organiser, Eric Gay says, “Wessex Midsummer Vintage Show has been staged for the last 14 years in the Trowbridge and Westbury area, but due to development works on the site at The White Horse Country Park, we can no longer have use of this land.
“We are desperately searching for a new venue on which to stage our event; the show is held with the sole purpose of raising funds for The Children’s Hospice South West. We would like to appeal to any land owner in or around the Westbury area that may be able to rent us around 14 acres of land for the third weekend in June 2023. If anyone can help, I would love to hear from you – I can be contacted on 01225 754374 – just ask for Eric.”
The Wessex Midsummer Vintage Show started in 1977 when a small group from the newly-formed Wessex Stationary Engine Club (WSEC) held a rally at Kilmersdon Hill. In the following years, WSEC exhibited at the Camerton Rally, held rallies at Longleat, including the first 1000 Engine Rally, underground at Monkton Farleigh, and Cheddar football ground, where they stayed until 1991.
WSEC found that they were outgrowing the football ground, so they moved to a field in Semington, where they stayed until 2018. After being rained off in 2019 and cancelled due to Covid in 2020 and 2021, the group are now planning their latest show and the show is still organised by a small but enthusiastic group of volunteers.
