FLOWER FESTIVAL at ST MARY’S – HOME COUNTIES AREA of NAFAS
National Association of Flower Arranging Societies
Home Counties Area of NAFAS are delighted to have the opportunity to hold ‘Abundant Blessings’ an Area Flower Festival in the beautiful St Mary’s Church in Hitchin. This will give us the space to showcase our skills and talents and to make a focus for our members, friends and visitors to see our creations.
Home Counties Area of NAFAS has 31 Flower Clubs throughout Bedfordshire,, Hertfordshire and part of Essex. We promote the love of flower arranging by holding demonstrations, workshops, courses and staging Flower Festivals such as in this lovely Church, but also in our own local parish churches, wedding venues and even Westminster Abbey.
The designs in the Church will be staged by representatives from our Clubs and individuals from the area. We welcome members of St Mary’s to take part and we are very grateful for the cooperation with the volunteers from St Mary’s who have organised the publicity, catering, stewards and entertainment during the weekend.
We are part of the National Association of Flower Arranging Societies and take part in National Shows, RHS shows including Chelsea Flower Show. We have many experienced arrangers who have won Gold medals and other awards.Our members enjoy the friendship and fun that comes from theier love of flowers and design.
Further details are available on our website
https://flowershomecounties.com/
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Report on our biggest Fundraiser of the decade
We are incredibly grateful to all who came to support our major Fundraising event.
St Mary’s has launched an ambitious fundraising campaign to make our glorious Church fit for purpose for this century, to ensure that St Mary’s continues as a beacon of Christian hope for Hitchin and a community asset for the surrounding area for years to come.
Our 2024 Flower Festival was a great opportunity to launch our campaign and a key way to raise funds for our proposed new servery, toilets and heating project which we hope will make a difference in the Hitchin community.
Visitors to the Festival had the opportunity to immerse themselves in over 40 floral arrangements, handcrafted and donated by talented flower arrangers from the Home Counties Area of NAFAS (National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies) and individuals from across the county, together with our own church flower arrangers.
It was a spectacular success thanks to the talented arrangers from NAFAS who generously donated their beautiful creations to adorn our Church for the occasion and our volunteers and sponsors from the community.
We could not have staged all the extra evening events and the three full days of the Festival without a number of dedicated volunteers. Not just the flower team but everyone, including the musicians, bellringers. tea room organisers, the Treasurers, stewards and clear-up teams. So we want to say a massive thanks to them and to all our visitors. We received some lovely comments and were particularly pleased that it appealed to all ages.
We want to say a big thank you to the team from the Queen Mother Theatre, led by Chris Lane who lent equipment and set up our special lighting effects, also to our local Sponsors including: Country Properties Hitchin & The Letting Quarter, The Wine Society, all the Churchyard shops, including The Groundworks cafe, The Haberdashery, Halsey’s Deli , HRH Holmes, Rhubarb, Wilde Jewellery, Webbs Grocers, also The Flower Barn and CultureTrend in Hermitage Road. Many individuals also contributed to our set up costs.
ST MARY’S OPENING TIMES
Except when special services occur, we are open for all visitors from 9 am until dusk in winter or 5 pm in Summer. Morning prayer will be said at 9 am. on Mondays to Thursdays only
Please note: There may be no entry at these times where this coincides with weddings or funerals, maintenance, or any unforeseen events. If so, this will be indicated by signs outside the main doors. Do check with the Parish Office well ahead if you are making a special journey.
DROP US A LINE
We would love to meet you, why not pop along to one of our services, or get in touch.