‘Frocks & Flowers’ and Open Gardens: A Wonderful Village Weekend

“Let’s raise some money for some local charities and the church.” Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time!

And so, a small group of volunteers, led by the indefatigable Sue Atton, brought the vision of ‘Frocks & Flowers’ and Open Gardens to life.

Four months, 42 mannequins and a lot of hard work

Four months was not long to bring it all together, but with a great deal of effort from a wonderful group of volunteers, it all came together for an amazing weekend, with nearly 200 visitors to the village.

The team included everyone from school children and flower arrangers to stall holders, gardeners, gazebo erectors, car park attendants, church cleaners, model dressers and cream tea ladies. There really was a job for everyone!

Frocks from around the world

The collection of enough mannequins proved to be a task in itself. After appeals in the Kibworth Chronicle, the Harborough Mail and on local HFM radio, we were lucky enough to be lent a total of 42 mannequins, of all shapes and sizes. It did go down to the wire, with the last few only arriving early on Saturday morning!

The dresses came from a wide variety of individuals, with items from as far afield as India, Africa, Indonesia and China.

We were also loaned a number of wedding dresses dating from 1964 to the present day, alongside some wonderful dresses from the eco wardrobe at Welland Park School.

These, together with a tableau of dresses from Ascot and some fascinating historical items, filled the church with life and colour.

A parish comes together

And the result? More than £1,700 was raised throughout Church and East Langton for the church and local charities.

But perhaps the real success of the weekend was the way the whole village came together. From those lending precious dresses and mannequins, to the volunteers creating displays, tending gardens, serving cream teas and welcoming visitors, it was a true village event.

A celebration of individuals coming together to create something memorable — and a wonderful weekend for St Peter’s and the whole community. See the full gallery of photos here; simply click on a photo to enlarge it and see the wonderful details.

Words and photographs: Sue Johnson, All rights reserved.

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The church is desperate to raise funds to install toilets and access facilities so that we can hold more events for our community. If you are able to make a donation, we would be incredibly grateful.