‘The show must go on’ was the Reporter headline 50 years ago this month as Denton’s biggest weekend of the year attracted over 3,000 visitors and proved the doubters wrong.
The Denton Show had been a popular fixture at the Festival Hall since the mid ‘60s, but ten years on, some of the organising committee were saying it was time to re-think the familiar format.
With young and old turning out in such large numbers in September 1975, the verdict was clear: “If it ain’t broke...”
As our reporter observed : “To most Denton people it has become not so much a show, more a way of life.”
The weekend aimed to cater for all sections of the community with a ‘something for everyone’ approach. One omission which the organisers hoped to overturn in future years was the lack of local industry involvement.
Visitors were greeted in the foyer by the sounds of a colourfully painted Dutch street organ played by Ken Redfern. The main hall and downstairs rooms were swamped with a huge variety of flowers, fruit and vegetables.
Other sections including arts and crafts, wines and beers, photography, floral art, ladies, children’s and schools classes were also well supported.
Displays by two well known local personalities attracted plenty of interest. Denton historian Burley Key was inundated with questions about the town’s past and Christ Church curate the Rev Geoff Howard talked about his harrowing experience wheeling a wheelbarrow 2,000 miles across the Sahara.
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