CHILDREN wowed judges of the national In Bloom competition last Thursday with a colourful display of dancing in Gostrey Meadow.

One hundred and fifty dancers involved in the Farnham Blooming dance project wore specially created costumes for the occasion thanks to a £500 grant from the South Street Trust.

Led by Farnham Maltings’ resident dance company The Dance Movement, the project saw dozens of prop makers and seamstresses busy themselves making skirts, tops, headdresses and wings in the build up to the performance.

The theme for the dance was The Green Man. This is often interpreted as a symbol that represents the cycle of growth and so all the costumes were representative of the natural environment.

The Mayor of Farnham, John Ward, presented the cheque to The Dance Movement and said: “The mayoress and I were delighted to see the bee costumes and were very impressed by the quality.

“I could see that a lot of thought had to go into the costume design as they had to be robust enough to withstand several dance performances but flexible enough for the dances to move freely.”

The South Street Trust awards around £20,000 per year to organisations seeking funding for art-based educational activities. More information about how to apply for a grant from the South Street Trust can be found online at www.farn

ham.gov.uk/grants.