Biology:British Asparagus Festival

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The British Asparagus Festival – also known as the Worcestershire British Asparagus Festival and the Vale of Esham Festival[1] opened in 2008 in Evesham.  The annual event is held in Worcestershire, in a few locations including the Fleece Inn[2] and the Evesham Town Centre. In addition to the 8,000 attendees,[3] special guest stars include: Bobby the AsparaHorse,[4] Gus the Asparagusman[5] and the Asparamancer.[6] The Morgan Car that transports the characters along with a Vale asparagus on a Royal Worcestershire platter stops at a variety of places including: Parliament, Fortnum and Mason, Buckingham Palace, Worcester Cathedra and Leicester (the latter because of the Battle of Evesham connection). And the asparagus itself is used or the St George's Day Loving Cup ceremony.[7]

Events

There are many events at the festival. Over the years these have included:

  1. Fortunetelling from the world’s only Asparamancer[8]
  2. Menu featuring asparagus-themed food
  3. Asparagus Auctions[9]
  4. Asparagus Family Colour Fun Run[10]
  5. First cut round of asparagus[11]
  6. Band performances[12]
  7. Asparagus eating competition[13]
  8. Riding for the Disabled performance[14]

In 2018 – a decade after the festival began – Aspaguides and Asparabus Tours were added to the celebrations.  The start of the festival coincided with Saint George’s Day[15] as well as the first ever National Asparagus Day.[16] Bretforton School students were dressed in green for Saint George’s Day and wearing asparagus headgear. They enjoyed the Morris Dancers[17] and the Asparagus Express train too.[18] Central to the festivities is the first-cut round of asparagus along with a blessing and special ode.  The festival ended on June 16–18 with the National Morris Weekend’s entertainment and activities.

Recognition and awards

In 2013 the British Asparagus Festival was selected as a regional finalist in Visit England’s Where Else But England Awards.[19] In 2017 it received Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status from the European Parliament for Belgium.[20] In 2017 it was featured on BBC1’s Have I Got a Bit More News for You.[21]

References

  1. ↑ "Vale asparagus on track for a grand St George's Day celebration" (in en). https://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/16175132.vale-evesham-celebrates-national-asparagus-day-full-head-steam/. 
  2. ↑ "British Asparagus Festival at the Fleece Inn, Evesham". https://thefleeceinn.co.uk/whats-on/the-british-asparagus-festival/. 
  3. ↑ "British Asparagus Festival - Vale of Evesham". https://www.asparagus-lover.com/british-asparagus-festival.html. 
  4. ↑ "Asparagus Express | Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway" (in en). https://www.gwsr.com/news/Press_Office/Old_press_releases/Asparagus_express.html. 
  5. ↑ "Meet Gus the Asparagus Man, whose church appearance has some folks really steamed". https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-thursday-edition-1.4088551/meet-gus-the-asparagus-man-whose-church-appearance-has-some-folks-really-steamed-1.4088556. 
  6. ↑ "Saying ‘thanks for all your efforts’ to the NHS" (in EN). https://www.freshplaza.com/article/9315002/saying-thanks-for-all-your-efforts-to-the-nhs/. 
  7. ↑ "Commons reception for Vale asparagus" (in en). https://www.eveshamjournal.co.uk/news/1990550.commons-reception-for-vale-asparagus/. 
  8. ↑ Malloy, Tomas (2020-05-01). "Somerset asparagus fortune-teller predicts good lockdown news" (in en). https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/this-morning-asparagus-fortune-lockdown-4094997. 
  9. ↑ "Enjoy Asparagus: A Guide for Buying, Cooking, Using and Learning About Vale of Evesham Asparagus". https://www.valeandspa.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Asparagus-guide-2020.pdf. 
  10. ↑ "Asparagus Colour Run 2018" (in en-GB). http://www.pulsepursuits.co.uk/eventbrite-event/asparagus-colour-run-2018/. 
  11. ↑ "Vale asparagus on track for a grand St George's Day celebration" (in en). https://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/16175132.vale-evesham-celebrates-national-asparagus-day-full-head-steam/. 
  12. ↑ "Asparagus Festival 2016 - Worcestershire" (in en-GB). 2016-04-17. https://www.contrarylife.com/2016/04/asparagus-festival-2016-32648/. 
  13. ↑ "Asparagus Eating Competition – British Asparagus Festival" (in en-US). http://www.britishasparagusfestival.co.uk/asparagus-eating-competition/. 
  14. ↑ "Celebrating 50 years of the Riding for the Disabled Association" (in en-GB). 2019-08-03. https://www.festivalofbritisheventing.com/celebrating-50-years-of-the-riding-for-the-disabled-association/. 
  15. ↑ "Celebrating St. George's Day 2018" (in en-US). https://www.stgeorgessociety.org/news/2018/5/1/celebrating-st-georges-day-2018. 
  16. ↑ "National Asparagus Day (UK)". https://eventguide.com/d/107812.htm. 
  17. ↑ Staples/Reuters, Darren (2015-06-22). "National Morris Weekend - in pictures" (in en-GB). The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. https://www.theguardian.com/stage/gallery/2015/jun/22/national-morris-weekend-in-pictures. 
  18. ↑ "British asparagus on track despite delays". http://www.fruitnet.com/fpj/article/175370/british-asparagus-on-track-despite-delays. 
  19. ↑ Live, Coventry (2011-03-09). "Travel: Asparagus festival is a top tip for awards" (in en). https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/lifestyle/travel/travel-asparagus-festival-top-tip-3047038. 
  20. ↑ "Protected English asparagus mission heads to Brussels" (in en-US). 2017-04-20. https://www.producebusinessuk.com/protected-english-asparagus-mission-heads-to-brussels/. 
  21. ↑ "BBC One - Have I Got a Bit More News for You, Series 53, Episode 2" (in en-GB). https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08pnhpy. 




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