Village group fetches funds for new play park with coronation dog show
A group raising money for a new play park in a north Shropshire village has celebrated a successful afternoon of royal celebrations.
The Norton in Hales events team has been looking at raising funds to replace the village play park for several years. So far the team has raised around £25,000 of its £90,000 goal.
On Sunday, to celebrate the coronation, the team held a 'paw-some' coronation celebration to help raise funds.
As well as filling the village green with stalls, inflatables and entertainment, organisers held a coronation bake-off competition and dog show.
Pups took home ribbons for possessing the waggiest tail, performing the quickest sit or best trick.
Prizes were also given to the 'loveliest lady', the 'most fabulous fella' and one was reserved for the owner who looks most like their dog.
One of the organisers, Dave Mason, said the day was a barking success.
"It went well, the show was a great success," he said.
"It's been a few years since we've held a village dog show, because of the pandemic, so it was good to see it back. We had a great turn-out."
Dave said rising costs have impacted the plans of the group, which is now working hard to find funding to finish the project.
He explained: "The weekend of events raised around £2,000 towards the playground. It'll go a long way, but we've got a big mountain to climb in terms of raising funds.
"When we started looking at the project a few years ago, the costs were a lot lower. But the cost of building anything has gone up by about 25 per cent."
