The show must go on! Horbury Show to continue in 2024 after Wakefield Hospice takes over

Earlier this year, it was announced that the Rotary Club had decided it was no longer able to organise and deliver the annual Horbury Show, drawing the curtain on an event which they themselves have hosted since 1997, unless a replacement organising body could be found.

Citing a 40 per cent decline in rotary membership and the physical challenges which the event presents for the club, Rotary Club President Mike Rogers had said: “We can work with new and complex regulations, provide the organisational skills required, but we cannot turn back the effects of time, so reluctantly we now need to pass the baton on to someone else.”

It has now been announced that the proverbial baton has been passed to Wakefield Hospice, who will take over the running of the event from 2024 in partnership with the Rotary Club, before becoming the exclusive organising body for the event from 2025.

Helen Knowles, Director of Income Generation at Wakefield Hospice said: “The Horbury Show has been a staple event in the Wakefield district’s calendar for decades, and the Rotary Club of Horbury and Ossett Phoenix have done an incredible job at organizing and delivering such a fantastic event, year after year, for the benefit of the local community.

“When the opportunity arose to take over the running of the show, we were honored and privileged to be asked, it is indeed an exciting opportunity for Wakefield Hospice, and we are equally delighted to work closely with the Rotary Club and the event supporters to ensure a smooth transitional period.

“With over 30 years’ worth of experience at running events - alongside the guiding hand of the Rotary Club - Wakefield Hospice is well equipped and perfectly positioned to ensure the future of the Horbury Show looks bright.

“We are now looking forward to beginning preparations for the Horbury Show 2024 on Sunday, June 30 at Carr Lodge Park. We aim to bring an event worthy of those which have come before it whilst adding our own ‘Wakefield Hospice stamp’ on the fun and festivities.”

The Horbury Show has seen regular attendances of between 5,000 and 6,000 people each year and has raised over £206,000 for the Rotary’s Chariatable Trust Fund, whilst generating a further estimated £225,000 for local charities and community groups who have been a part of the show over the years.

Chair of the Horbury Show John Faulkner, who has led the organising committee since 1996, said: ““After 27 years and 25 Shows our hardest decision was agreeing to give up and pass the show over to another local charity to run it.

"Having known and dealt with the members of the team at Wakefield Hospice for many years we are sure that the future of the Horbury Show has now been secured for the benefit of all. In doing so however I would like to thank all those community groups, charities, performers and volunteers who have worked so hard for the show as well as, of course, the public.”