THERE was no shortage of activity in Raglan on Monday, 28th August as the village celebrated Raglan Day.

The busy day featured a carnival parade, a produce show and a fun day held on the Raglan sports field.

The annual carnival parade featured Rocky the festival mascot, the Chepstow Samba Band, the festival king and queen (Raglan VC Primary School pupils Heather Watkins and Luke Parker) driven in a classic convertible Crossley (owned and driven by Malcolm Hatfield), the Millennium Chimes bell ringers as well as many locals in fancy dress parading through the village.

Two floats were created for the carnival; the first was an amazing mad hatter’s tea party by Raglan WI and the second a fantastic ice cream machine by the Raglan 1st Scouts, there was also a car by Raglan Rovers Seniors Football club.

The floats and the fancy dress costumes of those who participated in the parade were judged by Raglan County Councillor Penny Jones, local Assembly Member Nick Ramsay and Community Councillor Brian Willott.

They awarded the prize of of best presented float to Raglan WI, the most humorous float to Raglan 1st Scouts, the best presented walking group to Anita Bromley’s Takahiro Dojo and individual parade walkers Catherine Williams, Katie Bevan and Maggie Bevan were also awarded prizes.

There were prizes aplenty at the produce show which featured homecraft, floral art and horticulture categories for both juniors and adults.

These were judged by Angela Bassett Jones for homecraft and Trevor Phillips for horticulture.

Winners included Archie Greenslade, Nell Horsey, Chloe Jenkins, Alex Anthony, Noa Rosier, Patrick Finlay and Amelia Finlay for various children’s categories.

Andrea Greenslade for her Victoria sandwich, Margaret Lawrence for her houseplant, David Watkins for his cherry tomatoes, David Cornfield for his carrots, Sarah Cornfield for the longest runner beans, Mike Wagstaff for the heaviest marrow.

Sue Price won for her Welsh cakes, fruit tart and traybake and took home the AJB Townsend Cup for being the overall winner of the produce competition.

The excitement did not end with the parade and produce show, as the fun day held on the Raglan sports field ensured there was entertainment all day.

The fun day saw a myriad of local stalls with something for everyone, and activities such including a bouncy castle, a vintage tractor and VW display and much more. The annual dog show sponsored by Abbey Vets was also a great success.

To add to the festival atmosphere the Abergavenny Tenovus Choir performed on the main stage throughout the afternoon, along with acoustic sets from both Ted Jevans and Ed Harper.

More than a thousand people enjoyed the sunny summer afternoon as well as a showcase from Raglan’s Got Talent winners, Tootie Flutie, Neve Parry and Isabella Hobson.

Colwyn Knight, Raglan Festival committee chair was thrilled with how the day went.

He said: “Raglan Day has been a great success again this year, with marvellous weather bringing out the crowds. The Parade was superb, being executed with military precision and a display of fun from all those taking part.

“The Festival team would like to thank everyone for participating with true community spirit. There are too many people to mention, but we all deserve to be proud of what we achieved”.

“The festival committee would like to thank everyone involved for their support, whether it was local businesses that sponsored or had stalls at the event, volunteers who stewarded the parade and fete, and also to the people who attended the event, as without this support, the Festival would not be sustainable.”

Photos courtesy of Rikki Knight