I Loved Paws & Play in the Park 2018

A week on and the I Love Bramhall team has just about recovered from our absolutely pawesome bank holiday event, Paws & Play in the Park. The sun was out and so was what seemed like the entire village – and then some!

The weekend was a record-breaking scorcher and I was delighted to see so many people from near and far stop by Lumb Lane Park. Every year Wendy Green organises this family fun day on behalf of I Love Bramhall, I Love Cheadle Hulme and Friends of Lumb Lane and while it’s no easy feat, it’s such a reward when the plan comes together.

This year I was lucky enough to have the support of our sponsors Redrow Homes, Stretch Tent Hire UK and Mercato Italiano, as well as the Area Committee for
Bramhall and Cheadle Hulme South, without whom the event would not have gone ahead. Thank you to all who made this year’s event such a success – I can safely say that 2018’s Paws & Play in the Park was the biggest and best yet, superbly attended by families and, of course, by hundreds of happy hounds!

From pugs to greyhounds, beagles to collies – and everything in between – our four-legged friends were out in force to show Bramhall what they have to offer as part of the hotly-anticipated Dog Show. We saw some amazingly attired pets, as well as dogs proudly performing tricks to the delight of the crowds. Lovely ladies, terrific toy dogs and marvellous mutts were among the winning pooches to walk away with rosettes on the day, while dogs in the top three spots of each segment also received prizes generously donated from Notcutts and Pets at Home.

With the unenviable task of crowning the winners across a whopping 12 categories over the course of the day, our judges had some difficult decisions to make – thank you to Mayor of Stockport Linda Weekes-Holt, MP for Cheadle Mary Robinson, Rob McCann of Redrow Homes, Mercato’s Vanessa Gerrard, Bernard Burgess from Friends Of Lumb Lane Park, Your Support Team’s Hayley Ekgren, Roger Prydderch of Prydderch Financial Planning, Bramcote Dental Practice’s Nigel Saynor and Ed Mascarenhas of Ed’s Hair for beating the heat and picking out the pooches most deserving of the prestigious titles.

In-keeping with the canine theme, there were plenty of stalls selling hound-related handicrafts and all manner of doggy delights, including gourmet dog treats aplenty, bandanas and stylish attire, collars, leads, keyrings and hand-painted pictures, as well as enchanting wooden animal figures from Dovetail Designs.

There was plenty in the way of food and drink to keep everyone feeling content, too – tons of Cheeky Swine hog roast sandwiches were devoured on the day, washed down with a chilled beer (or a gin, in SOME cases…) from the Mounting Stone. Chilli Banana and Wood Fire Smoke brought fantastic flavour fusions to feed the many while homemade cakes and brownies by Lemon Drizzle were enjoyed by lots of our younger guests – and more than a few of our older visitors, too! The smoothies and fruit pops were in a big healthy hit and the team from Anytime Fitness was on hand to advise visitors on how to keep in shape over the summer months.

Crafts, fun games, face painting, kids’ rides and the bouncy castle kept the little ones busy and everyone enjoyed clambering aboard the trap for a ride from Poppy and Betty the ponies. There were artisans in attendance selling all manner of goodies, from Cheshire Home Fragrance’s sublimely scented candles to beautiful keepsake knitted cards from Nelly’s Needles and Knits.

Always happy to support a good cause, we ran a charity raffle of fabulous prizes donated by local businesses and raised more than £300 for Otterspool Animal Haven, which cares for unwanted dogs and cats from across Stockport – don’t forget to visit their shop on Bramhall Lane South in Davenport. A number of charities also joined us with stalls on the day, including Cancer Research UK and Stopford Cat Rescue from Woodford.

I’m absolutely delighted that the day was such a success – we welcomed so many visitors, on two legs and four, there’s surely no way we can top Paws & Play in the Park 2018… or is there? Join us next year and let’s find out!

For more photos from Chelsea Shoesmith Photography click here

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