The County Garden Show, also known as A Bench and a Few Good Chairs is a different kind of country fair…not a craft show, not an art show, not an equipment show…you might be asking – what sort of show is it, then and why would I be interested?
For a start this is a show with heart, it’s about community, not commerce. The show is organized and operated by The Edith Fox Life & Loss Centre, with major sponsorship provided by RBC Dominion Securities, Belleville, and Wight’s Greenhouses, Wellington. The programs provided by this not-for-profit organization support people from all walks of life in dealing with any kind of loss issues by providing them with professional clinical psychotherapy services. In particular, children are the focus of the Centre’s work, through programs such as Lambs for Children and Camp Star.
The entrance fee is $10, which entitles you to come every day for three days if you choose – wrist band policy is in effect. This entrance fee goes to covering costs for the event (rental of the Crystal Palace alone is over $2,000 for the three days) and all net proceeds are used to provide programs within the County and surrounding area. It is a sad fact of life that those most in need of the services are those who can often not afford to pay for the services themselves. What could be better than having an enjoyable day (or two) out at the Crystal Palace, while helping to enable these services to continue to be available in the County.
This is also a show with focus – nature, gardening and the creative arts are all foundations of the programs delivered by the Centre, tools that together with the human-animal bond allow clients, guided by a clinical psychotherapist, to put their own grief and loss issues in perspective. Healing takes time, and with nature and the cycle of life as a context for each individual story, coming to terms with reality and being able to move from the past and to look forward to the future is eventually possible.
So… in this show there are no central heating systems, no appliances, no magic polishing cloths…what it does have: tables of abundance from nature, tools to help work productively and safely in the garden, demonstrations to pique curiosity and teach new ideas, creative works for the garden and leisure areas, and instructional displays and products to help you love your life more, appreciate nature and art more, and assist you in getting involved. The Centre tries every year to bring new vendors and demonstrations to the show, while retaining some of the more popular activities and of course welcoming back vendors from previous shows.
This year’s attractions include…
NEW! The Blues Breakfast on Sunday morning:
The Edith Fox Life & Loss Centre presents the wonderful Brian Blain performing his own unique and widely acclaimed folk-blues, with a breakfast prepared for you by the Rotary Club of Picton – proceeds from the breakfast go to Rotary.
Sunday Afternoon Tea:
The Tea Party returns but this time with a reading by Merilyn Simonds from her latest book “A New Leaf”.
