Rutland Festival of Food and Farming cancelled amid continued Covid fears

Thursday, 17 June 2021 09:54

The Rutland Agricultural Society has taken the difficult decision to cancel July’s Festival of Food and Farming amid continuing concerns about the Covid19 pandemic and extended government restrictions.

Concerns over unvaccinated younger visitors, the new Covid Delta variant and uncertainty following the government’s announcement of extended restrictions have all led to the Rutland Agricultural Society cancelling this year’s already scaled down Rutland County Show.

The Rutland County Show is one of the country’s oldest agricultural shows and regularly attracts thousands of visitors, both local and national. This year’s show had already been scaled down due to existing Covid restrictions and renamed the Rutland Festival of Food and Farming. Originally planned for the 11^th July at the Rutland County Showground, the Show’s trustees felt that in the interest of public health and their own financial security they couldn’t commit to a show this year.

David Wood is the Chairman of the Rutland Agricultural Society and he spoke to Rutland and Stamford Sound:

“We are deeply sorry about that.” says David, “We particularly wanted some kind of show for the community, having already cancelled the Rutland County Show, but we thought this was the most prudent decision. We think that people will understand that, should any Covid transmission have occurred at the Show, it would have been a considerable risk and not one we wanted to take."

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