Wed 27th July 2016
Much-loved Holker Garden Festival concludes after 24 wonderful years
Following a recent meeting of its Board of Directors, the Holker Estate has taken the difficult decision to bring the Garden Festival to a close in order to devote more time and energy to refreshing its annual events programme across the Estate.
Holker has played host to an incredible variety of public events over the years, from horse trials and historic car shows to a hot air balloon festival and more recently the BBC Antiques Roadshow and concerts at Cartmel Racecourse.
The first Garden Festival was held in 1992. It was inspired by the popularity of the Lakeland Rose Show and quickly became established as the ‘Chelsea of the North’, attracting some of the UK’s top horticulturalists, nurseries and specialist growers. Its beautiful setting amid the Holker parkland combined with the relaxed ‘garden-party’ atmosphere made it quite unique.
Holker Group Chairman Lucy Cavendish comments “The Garden Festival has been part of my life for many years and I have many cherished memories but horticultural and other outdoor events have proliferated in an already congested early summer season. This has put the Festival’s long term prospects in jeopardy. We therefore took the view that it was better to end now on a high. On behalf of my family, may I offer our heartfelt thanks for the loyalty, hard work and commitment over the years, to those who made the Garden Festival what it was. It was a team effort and the support of those involved created 24 magical events”.
The experienced events team at Holker are now focusing their efforts on developing a fresh and engaging events programme for the 2017 season and beyond that will appeal to visitors and local people alike.
Look out for new events to be announced in due course on the Holker Hall website: www.holker.co.uk.