Countdown to Show Day
Nantwich Agricultural Society
The Nantwich Show has been an annual feature of the South Cheshire events calendar since 1897.
From humble beginnings as a very small cheese show in the grounds of St Joseph’s School (now the site of Elim Church & Regents Park Business Centre) to the largest one-day agricultural day out in the UK, the Nantwich Show has welcomed hundreds of thousands of visitors and animals over the years.
Until 2019 the Show had only been cancelled three times, once during the Second World War, once due to Foot & Mouth and once in 2012 due to extreme weather.
Sadly, 2019 was to be the second cancellation due to the great British weather and thanks to Covid of course, 2020 and 2021 didn’t get out of the starting blocks. At the start of the pandemic, most of the infrastructure for the 2020 event had been paid for, this led to an overnight loss of almost £250k and with no insurances to cover Covid, the status of the Nantwich Show was on very shaky ground.
The Nantwich Agricultural Society is the charity behind the Show, and for decades ran with just one paid member of staff and over 150 volunteers; a reason that was cited when we received the Queens Award for Voluntary Service in 2016.
2019 would also be the last year that the International Cheese Awards took place at the Showground as they have taken up residence at the Staffordshire Showground with a very successful launch event in October 2021.
In July 2022 we pulled together a hugely successful Show after just five months of preparation and relaunched at Reaseheath College .
New additions to our fabulous team of volunteers, a real community effort with support from fellow community organisations and discounts from suppliers meant we were able to host a whole new-look to the event and for the first time in years, turn a profit!
2023 followed with another successful event, this time employing a part time Show Secretary, Mel Wood and Liz Parkin the Show Manager continued as a volunteer for a second year. With over 1000 competition entries across eight sections, over 250 traders and attractions the 2023 Show was another success (all be it cut slightly short due to a huge downpour at 4pm that cleared the Showground!)
So, here we are in 2024 and we are looking forward to our third year at Reaseheath College. Liz is now employed on a part time basis and along with Show Secretary Mel, Membership Secretary Steph Thompson and a team of dedicated Show Directors and Section Secretaries, the Nantwich Show is firmly back in the local calendar on the last Wednesday of July each year.
Register your Interest
There are several teams of volunteers, each organising a different section of the Show. Register your interest in any aspect of the Show and we will pass your details to the correct team who will make contact within a few days.
THANK YOU to our Sponsors!
