The excitement of the annual Knaphill Village Show is over again for another year. But what a year it was! Our 10th anniversary event brought out the biggest crowds we have ever seen, and even the weather behaved itself.

I’ve got to admit that as the time was drawing near, the weather forecast was looking decidedly dodgy, and the KRA organising committee were sending each other regular updates and comparing MET Office versus BBC. In fact, even with only just over an hour to go before the start, the heavens opened in a dramatic downpour, but this was clearly just to get it all out of the way, because by the time the show began, at 1pm, it was bright, sunny and warm (but fortunately not scorching like 2018!) and remained so for the rest of the day. Someone was clearly smiling down on us!

Maybe it was the good weather, maybe it was the fact that it was our tenth annual show, maybe it was because the KRA organising committee have been working harder than ever to make it our biggest and bestest show yet, but whatever the reason, the general public turned out in force, giving us our highest attendance on record (a staggering 2000 attendees!).

Unfortunately, with such a popular event, the car park, manned by our dedicated volunteers, became full on a number of occasions leaving a few frustrated attendees. We always lay on a free minibus to shuttle visitors from the village down to the event and back again, so that you can ‘park and ride’ as it were, and I’m thrilled to say that this year we had much greater take up.

The fun dog show, organised by Oscar pet food, took place, as it does each year in the cool, calm of the central clearing, and they too had their busiest year so far, with 97 entries. It was a lovely enthusiastic crowd down there, so even if you’re not a dog owner, it’s definitely worth checking out next Summer (although we might need a little lie down in a darkened room before we start thinking about next year!).

On the theme of animals, this year we had two new additions that proved to be the shining stars of the event; Pentangle Aquatics and Little Magic Ponies. The latter were a huge success for the little ones to ride on, and the former had constant queues forming of adults and children eager to meet their guestsssss!

A new area for this year was the handmade marquee; located in the cool shade next to Mizens ticket office, this space was filled with local residents who proudly brought their homemade wares to sell. It was lovely to have them along, and we were super impressed with the wide range of crafts they all made. We hope you were too!

Our official photographer, Claire Bemister Photography, was busy snapping throughout the day. A few of her highlights can be found here, but a full gallery will follow soon.

As always, we have to thank our fantastic musicians and entertainers who really gave the whole event a wonderful vibe, with something to suit all ages. In no particular order, thank you to Scott No Fans, Ukejam, Ruth the harpist, Ukeaholics, Punch & Judy by Mr Magic, BellyTricks, Chobham Morris Dancers, and finally the newbies to our little show, Hartbeeps who entranced and engaged our youngest visitors.

As every year, we are always thrilled and staggered at the generosity and support of local businesses for our event, so for one final time, I’d like to thank our sponsors and also those who kindly donated to our raffle. As always, any profits from the event are donated to a local charity, so check back here soon to find out how much we raised, and to whom the money is going.