In 2004, a neighbour brought to the pre-school a silver trophy which had belonged to her late husband. It had names engraved on it, going back several years, and had been awarded at a yearly village show for home-grown produce. This lovely lady wondered if we, as a pre-school, would be willing to organise a similar event and use the trophy in some way.
On speaking to our local headmaster, we discovered that he was in possession of an engraved wooden plate from the same village show. It had been the award for the children's category and his daughter had been the last child to receive it, in 1995.
The rest now is history as our sixth event known as The Harvest Show prepares to take place next week. We have tweaked a few of the original categories and started a tradition of our own, in which the Oakey Dokey children always make the harvest soup to sell with refreshments.
This year also sees a change in our venue. The first five shows took place in our local school, as it has more space than the pre-school and the headmaster was happy to help us 'learn the ropes' in running a village event. This year we will be opening the doors of Oakey Dokeys, with a marquee acting as an extension and our newly appointed headmistress as a judge.
YOUNG AND OLD
We try hard to make the show fun, although many take it very seriously, so we do abide by a few strict rules. All entrants have to be there by 11.00am and entries must fall into the given categories.
We charge a small amount to enter and sell cakes and raffles as well as our soup. It's not a huge fundraiser but that isn't really our aim. We want it to be about community involvement, a way for young and old to mix together and share their creative wares.
The older generation of our village has always supported us as a pre-school. Many watched as our building was erected and felt that we would help bring young families into the village. For some, this will be the first time they have been inside the pre-school, so we are sprucing up the place and dusting off our bigger chairs.
While things constantly change and we adapt to accommodate them, what remains is the reason for the show being held in the first place. The buzzword of the day is 'legacy', and our little village event certainly feels like a legacy we are keeping alive for our children and village community.
