Royal Highland Show invites entries for Scottish Championships
The Royal Highland Show (22nd – 25th June) has launched entries for its prestigious Scottish Championships, with applications now invited for the Handcrafts, Honey, and Dairy categories.
Recognising excellence in Scottish produce, entries are judged by a panel of experienced industry experts, with the winning produce displayed throughout the four-day event to an audience of 200,000 visitors.
The established awards attract producers and crafters of the highest-quality from across Scotland and beyond. Winners receive a prestigious Scottish Championship award and are featured in a publicity campaign during the Royal Highland Show.
The Dairy Championships feature categories for cheese, ice cream, yoghurt and butter, with additional classes for specialty cheese, frozen yoghurt and flavoured butter.
Meanwhile, the Handcrafts Championships is a show-stopping showcase of creativity and includes a variety of art forms, from porcelain and beadwork to baskets and walking sticks. The 2023 theme for Handcrafts entries is ‘Rainbow’.
The Honey Championships celebrate this sweet treat in all its forms – including beeswax art, beeswax wraps, photography with a honey/beekeeping theme and honey-flavoured baked goods.
Chief Steward of the Scottish Championships, Jackie McCreery, is excited to see what this year’s entries will bring:
“The Scottish Championships are an unrivalled stage for the high-quality products and the Royal Highland Show is the best shop window you could ask for. This year we are focused on bringing buyers to the Highland so along with the prestige of being a gold, silver or bronze award winner, entrants may also come away with a valuable commercial contract at our buyers event.”
Commenting on the value of participating, Sheila Gray, owner of Fochabers Ice Cream Parlour who won the Overall Dairy Champion award in 2022, said:
“It was such a fantastic honour to win the overall dairy champion for Scotland.
“It was great for the team to think that our wee shop in the north east of Scotland and not a seaside resort managed to win such a prestigious award - so much hard work goes into making our ice creams and this just made it so worthwhile.”
Handcrafts and honey sections close on 21st May with the dairy categories closing on 26th May.
Full details of entry criteria and classes can be found on the Royal Highland Show website: www.royalhighlandshow.org.