Go rosy in Addo and sniff more than 16 000 roses this October! Grab your friends and head into the Sundays River Valley, the land of elephants, sunshine, citrus and roses for the spectacular Addo Rose and Garden Show. This celebrated show attracts more than eight thousand national and international visitors to see sixteen thousand roses of over forty varieties. This year's inspirational theme is "Our Beautiful World" and encompasses an entire section dedicated to nurseries and outdoor lifestyle products. Unique to this show, is the Variety Tent, where a minimum of 100 rose specimens are displayed and labelled for the serious rose lover. Enjoy a leisurely lunch at the sophisticated Rose Café and don’t miss the Gala Preview dinner on Friday evening. All profits from the show go to meet the ever-increasing need to uplift disadvantaged rural communities.
Devoted to the love of a rose and extending a loving hand. The Addo Rose Show grew out of a desire to bring the rose loving community together and help some worthy causes. In 1983, one of the Addo Women's Association members, suggested that they hold a non-competitive Rose Show dedicated to the love of a rose. The desire was that this show could serve as fund-raiser and the first show was organised in five months. The month of October was chosen since that is when Valley roses are at their best. It was anticipated that 100 people would attend and everyone was astounded when over 300 rose lovers thronged to the Valley. Within three years, the attendance had hit the 1000 mark, the arrangers became more ambitious, and began to arrange to a distinctive floral theme which has remained one of the unique aspects of the show. Throughout many changes over the years, some things have remained the same. The flower arrangers are all from the Women's Institute who still arrange to a new and exciting theme every year. The co-ordination and management of the entire show still remains in the hands of the Women's Association.
The Addo Rose and Garden Show supports:
THEMBALETHU EDU TRUST - the support of four township crèches and HIV education for the youth
THEMBA LOKUPHILA - Home based care for HIV patients
ALL LOCAL SCHOOLS - Bursaries and educational assistance
FITZPATRICK LIBRARY - Mobile libraries and books
VALLEIHOF HOME FOR THE AGED - Equipment
S.P.C.A. KIRKWOOD - Donations towards food and costs
KIRKWOOD HOSPITAL - Equipment
C.A.N.S.A. - Support of various programmes
GARDEN PROJECT - Provision of seeds etc to informal settlements
Need to know? For bookings for the Gala Pre-view Dinner on Friday the 10th of October 2008 contact: Viv Jensen - 042 2340417, 082 666 66 58, email vjensen@safpro.net or Marina van der Westhuizen - 082 834 87 65 email tortello@telkomsa.net. Find out more at www.addorose.co.za