Organisers of the annual Upton Grey Horticultural Society show hope a new food festival will safeguard the future of the event.
Hundreds of people flocked to the celebration of village life on fields opposite St Mary's Church on Saturday. Stalls selling chutneys, cheeses and other local produce were added to this year's festivities, and organiser Roger Clark said he hoped the new addition would push visitor numbers beyond the 400-mark.
"We used to have all sorts of traditional games, like throwing the bale of hay over the high jump bar, but it became difficult to get people to man the stalls," said Roger. "Then we introduced the novelty dog show, which has all sorts of unusual categories such as the dog that looks most like its owner, and then two or three years ago we introduced the classic car show.
"This is the first year we've had the food festival - the show doesn't support itself so any money we make is ploughed back into next year's event. A lot of flower shows are dying out because they're not getting the support, which is why we keep adding more things."
Among the local firms taking part was the Hampshire Chutney Co., based in Farleigh Wallop. Launched by Michelle Wilkinson 18 months ago, the firm has already picked up a number of awards and attracted the attention of celebrity chefs like Indian expert Atul Kochhar.
Michelle told the Observer: "I always try to support the local shows, as that's where the majority of your business comes from. And it's nice for local villagers to see there are producers within the area - people are quit shocked as they don't realise we're there. It puts us on the map."
After the judges had concluded their deliberations, crowds flooded the main marquee to see the prize winning horticultural show entries. With everything from onions and tomatoes, to dahlias and hydrangeas under the horoscope, as well as children's art, photos and preserves, there was a host of prizes on offer.
Among the big winners was Colin Parsons, who took home awards for his dahlias, mixed garden flowers, gladioli the over 60s award.
