The first major Flower Festival to be held in the Minster Church of St Cuthburga in Wimborne for seven years will take place from Friday 2 to Monday 5 September.

In recent times, the minster has held a festival every five years and the one planned for this year should have been held in 2020 but was postponed due to the pandemic.

The event is to celebrate the 900th anniversary of the start of the minster building as we know it today. The original foundations go back to the year AD705 and the 1300th anniversary was celebrated in 2005 when a host of events were held, including a flower festival.

Sharon Austin from Carnival Flowers is designing the festival and has been working hard with a small team from the minster to ensure that the whole event will be a success. There will be a number of tableaux and many other floral arrangements throughout the minster, all depicting the festival theme which is ‘Trades – Past and Present’. A number of flower clubs from across Dorset, one from Hampshire and the minster’s own arrangers are all taking part.

The festival will be open on the Friday, Saturday and Monday from 10am to 6pm and on Sunday from 2pm until 6pm. On the Sunday, the minster will be celebrating its Patronal Festival and the new Bishop of Salisbury, the Rt Rev Stephen Lake, will preside and preach at the 9.30am parish Eucharist when he will also dedicate the rebuilt minster organ. Entrance charge to the festival will be £5. There will be no concessions and children free. All proceeds will be for the everyday costs of running the minster together with a donation to Forest Holme Hospice.

There is disabled access to the minster and coach parties are welcome. Any further details required please contact Christine Oliver on 01202 888703.