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15
Oct 2020
Harrogate hosts contest to find Downing Street Christmas tree
The competition to find Britain's best Christmas tree, which will then stand outside Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Downing Street home, is to be held in Harrogate this month.
It is the first time the town has been chosen to stage the event, which also includes a category to find a champion wreath to hang on the PM's door at number 10.
The competition will take place at the Great Yorkshire Showground on October 28.
It is run by the British Christmas Tree Growers Association, which is now managed by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society.
The association, which is a trade group for people who grow specialist Christmas trees, has 320 members nationally.
Yorkshire TV stars Amanda Owen, shepherdess on Channel 5's Our Yorkshire Farm, and Peter Wright, from Channel 5's The Yorkshire Vet, will join the judging panel.
Because of covid, growers will send their tress to the ground but will be unable to attend in person.
Heather Parry, managing agent for the BCTGA, who is also the managing director of Yorkshire Event Centre, said:
Peter Wright said:
Read more:
- From Santa's grottos to winter wonderland walks, events across the Harrogate district are seeing record levels of demand for the festive season.
- Our survey revealed a third of Harrogate residents will do their Christmas shopping in the town.
Many growers in the competition have changed their business to suit covid measures by, for instance, introducing online sales and allowing customers to pick their own tree with social distancing measures.
Christmas tree orders are reported to have already exceeded early orders from 2019.
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