The Turriff Show is the biggest two-day agricultural show in Scotland – and is returning to Aberdeenshire on the 4 and 5 August this year.
This event highlights some of the most iconic aspects and brands of Scotland: Scotch Whisky, Scotch Beef, Scottish Seafood, BrewDog, Glenfiddich and Mackies’ Ice Cream. The show offers a fun and exciting place to learn about the area’s food, drink, land and sea and to meet the producers behind the brands.
There will be nearly 50 food exhibitors at the show this year including The Teasmith (Scotland’s first gin distilled with hand-picked tea), Louise’s Farm Kitchen (locally produced meat) and the Really Garlicky Company. Aberdeenshire and the north east are also renowned for its numerous artisan makes: craft gins, beers, baked goods and ice-cream.
The curator of the show’s food and drink pavilion, Sarah Mackie said: ‘There are some remarkable new businesses really brining the artisan, local food and drink story to life. Granite North Spirits is another gin distiller, they use water from the Cairngorm Mountains, and Brew Toon is a passionate craft beer producer creating a variety of bold, small batch beers from local ingredients.
‘Ice-cream is a tale brought to the north east by Italian immigrants who, poverty-stricken, left their country in search of a better life; we now have some stunning makers in our towns, including Rizza’s, Portsoy and Cullen ices,’ showing how there are a number of hidden stories behind the food heritage.
The area surrounding the Turriff Show is stunning as it hosts both the landscape and the coastline. This makes it a perfect event for tourists to attend as part of their Scottish summer holiday, offering them another way to enjoy the beauty and heritage of the region.
Mr Mackie said: ‘We have over 208km of the world’s top-rated coastlines, including some stunning, often deserted beaches, and the region is home to one of the last great places on earth, the Cairngorm National Park.
‘The town of Turriff itself is also a lovely place to visit, with a range of shops, restaurants and coffee shops.’
Around 23,000 people come to the Show and experience the 300+ exhibitor stands. This year is its 155th year running and there will be a number of judges from all over the British Isles coming to judge over 2,687 different species and breeds of animals.
There have been over 800 sheep, 289 cattle, 720 horses and ponies, 345 pigeons, 158 rabbits, 71 cavies, 73 goats and nine collie dogs entered for the show, making it some of the best livestock exhibits in the UK.
Within the new Food and Drink Pavilion there will also be a cookery theatre sponsored by Quality Meat Scotland, and the chef Kate Moore will provide a full schedule both weekends, talking about connecting food, farming and the environment, showcasing healthy eating and encouraging the farmers, growers and makers to share their stories.
As well as the pavilion, there will be a new area with arts, crafts, band stand entertainment, musicians, dancers and picnic benches and food vendors for visitors to enjoy.
Also in attendance will be Paul Anderson, the famous fiddler and Scott Brown, a local farming lad among some other new acts.
Gates open 7am-6pm on Sunday and Monday 4-5 August and under 15s go free. Visit www.turriffshow.org
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