A celebration to mark what has arguably been Farnham’s best year ever in the In Bloom competitions takes place on Sunday 16 December at the Farnham Vineyard Church in Union Road from 2.30pm.

The Farnham in Bloom Winter Celebration is free to attend and is open to all. Event organiser, Farnham Town Council hopes that lots of residents will come along.

Councillor Stephen Hill, Lead Member for Farnham in Bloom says: “Farnham had three category wins this year as well as four gold awards. We also received a special award for biodiversity. We think this is worth celebrating and we would like to see as many members of the local community as possible join us.”

The planning and activities that take place for Farnham in Bloom are made possible by support from volunteers and sponsorship from the business community. As well as looking back at this year’s successes in South and South East in Bloom, the event will celebrate the campaign’s wider benefits for the town and local community such as introducing children to gardening and environmental improvements. For potential volunteers – whether keen gardeners or enthusiastic beginners – wanting to get involved in the 2019 activities, the Winter Celebration is the ideal place to find out more.

Refreshments of mulled wine and 200 mince pies donated by Waitrose Farnham will be on sale with all proceeds going to the charity Chiks Children’s Homes. Farnham Brass Band will perform festive music and carols, and tubs of Farnham in Bloom hyacinths will be on sale – ideal for people looking for a last-minute Christmas gift. The bulbs were planted by children at the Farnham in Bloom half term gardening workshops in October.

The Winter Celebration offers a final opportunity in 2018 for Farnham Town Council to thank the dozens of volunteers who took part in the campaign in addition to the main sponsors and many local companies that provided financial sponsorship or sponsorship in kind this year.