The

painfully slow recovery from recession has forced organisers to postpone next

month’s (March 19-21) Edible Garden Show following concerns among potential

sponsors and exhibitors over the uncertain economy. 

The

first-ever national event dedicated exclusively to ‘Grow Your Own’ fruit and

vegetables was targeted to reflect the phenomenal explosion of interest among

the public for home-grown produce and healthy eating. Although the imaginative

concept for the new show had been well received, organisers found increasing

difficulty in securing commitment from enough exhibitors to justify the

scheduled launch on Friday, March 19, 2010. 

The

Edible Garden Show will now debut on March 18-20, 2011 at Stoneleigh Park,

Warwickshire, with organisers confident that the new date will allow time to

maximise the number of exhibitors attending and to secure sponsorship deals.

Exhibitions

expert Brian Wiseman, a shareholder and one of the key players behind The Edible

Garden Show, said: “We always knew we faced an immense challenge to launch a

national show of this scale against the backdrop of recession.  When we decided to go ahead with the project

back in September 2009 there were signs of the green shoots of recovery. There

was real hope that the UK would be coming out of recession early in 2010.

“Unfortunately

the speed of the economic recovery has been far slower in the UK than in many other

nations, which has resulted in a natural reluctance for businesses to commit to

expenditure in such an uncertain climate. 

Our concept has been well received and it has been widely recognised

that, in The Edible Garden Show, we have a recipe for an exciting and

innovative new national event. 

“Timing

has simply been against us with a number of potential exhibitors expressing

their keenness to be involved but at the same time being cautious to committing

themselves financially when there is still such uncertainty about the economic

future.” 

Mr

Wiseman added: “Naturally we are disappointed. 

A great deal of time, effort and money has been invested so far in this

project.  We might be downhearted at the

moment but we remain unwavering in our belief in the show and that we have a

concept which will be a massive hit with exhibitors, sponsors and the public.” 

The

show had already won official endorsements from two of the most high-profile

organisations in the gardening and agriculture world – the National Society of

Allotment and Leisure Gardeners (NSALG), which boasts 103,000 members in the UK

at over 2,000 allotment societies, and the Royal Agricultural Society of

England. Both organisations have pledged their continuing support for the show

and back the decision to postpone the launch until 2011. 

The

National Federation of Women’s Institutes was also supporting the show with

cookery demonstrations due to be conducted at the event by the WI’s National

Cookery School.

Organisers

had also secured a national media partner for the event through Mirror Group

Newspapers.

Mirror

Group has signed a three-year agreement to support The Edible Garden Show and

will remain national media partner for next year’s launch show. Mirror Group

Managing Editor Eugene Duffy said: “The Edible Garden Show is a fantastic idea

which we know our readers were looking forward to. We are obviously

disappointed it has been postponed but look forward to supporting the show next year.”

Officials

from The Edible Garden Show are contacting exhibitors and visitors who had

booked space or purchased tickets with a view to returning money or

transferring orders to the 2011 event.  

Air Jordan News