LEIGH folk are being encouraged to step back in time and start Digging For Victory.
A 1940’s summer fair is being planned for later this year at Pennington Hall Park and local veg growers are being urged to get sowing now!
North Ashton Band will be belting out the big tunes from the 40’s and everyone attending the event in August is being encouraged to turn up in 1940’s dress.
The summer fair will be a chance for residents to show off their home grown veg with a range of categories from heaviest onion to longest carrot.
But if veg isn’t your cup of tea there’s a whole host of nostalgic competitions to enter including best darned sock, best fruit cake and – for the children – best sock puppet.
Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust (WLCT), who manage the park, has teamed up with the Friends of Pennington Hall Park to organise the show which will be held on Sunday August 16th.
Anne Cockram, WLCT’s Parks Officer said:
“Growing your own has taken off in a big way over the last few years with more and more people digging in.
There’s not been this much interest in people turning over part of the lawn or flower bed to lettuce and carrots since the Second World War.
“So we thought it would be a great idea to hold a nostalgic 1940s summer fair to celebrate all the local growers achievements.”
Chairwoman of the Friends of Pennington Hall Park Gillian Baglee said:
“This is a slightly different way of organising a summer fair but we hope it creates the same result – a lot of fun and community involvement in the park.”
WLCT’s Parks Activity Officer Michael Fishwick will be out and about encouraging everyone in the area to show their veg.
Pennington resident Andrew Thomas, 34, is a newcomer to ‘growing your own’ and already has one eye on winning the coveted largest onion in show prize.
He said:
“It’s my first year growing vegetables and I’m really looking forward to showing off the fruits, or should that be veg, of my labour.”
Schedules are available from the Friends of Pennington Hall Park c/o 199 St Helens Road, Leigh or can be downloaded from the Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust website.
