Everyone’s a Winner!

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Whitstable Oyster Festival Best Dressed Shop Window Competition Awards

Words by Julie Wassmer

Photos by Gerry Atkinson (unless otherwise stated)

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After a year’s break due to the Covid pandemic, the return of the Whitstable Oyster Festival was marked very visibly with 30 local shops in Whitstable and neighbouring Tankerton entering the festival’s Best Dressed Shop Window competition. 

I was invited to judge the competition because this year’s theme is Whitstable Pearl – the name of the Acorn TV series based on my crime novels – but once I had viewed the entries I realised it would be probably be easier for me to write another book, than to choose a winner, as the standard was so high.

I was therefore very grateful to Edwina Neal and Janet Clancy of the Whitstable Oyster Festival Association (WOFA) for helping me to make my choice…

The Winning Shop award went to:-

The Fabric Shop in Harbour Street, Whitstable, for a fabulous mermaid design created by local artist, Anne Taylor.

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The Shop Runner Up was V.C. Jones, also in Harbour Street, for a unique display paying tribute to 35 members of our community who had proved themselves to be “pearls” during the pandemic for “soothing” the discomfort of others in the same way that an oyster makes a pearl from the grit in its shell.

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The Charity Shop Winner award went to Tankerton’s RSPCA shop.

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The smaller Pilgrims Hospice Shop on the corner of Terry’s Lane and Whitstable High Street was the Charity Shop Runner Up.

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Highly Commended certificates went to Bears Trading Company in Tankerton…

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Whites of Kent…

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Nomad Pizza…

And Gilberts.

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And in a break with tradition – due to the exceptionally high standard of entries this year, all charity shops received a Highly Commended certificate and all other shops received a Commended certificate.

Giving out the awards on Thursday 26^th August was a huge pleasure – especially as they were so well received.

Photos of shops receiving awards:

(Photos by Edwina Neal)

Click on images to enlarge…

Finally, I can’t say it better than Lucy Eason of Whitstable Oyster Festival Association and our iconic Whitstable minimarket, George’s, who said: “The team at WOFA want to give a BIG heartfelt thank you to all the businesses and charities who made the time, at what is a busy period of the year, to get creative and produce some wonderful window displays. We hope they have enjoyed generating ideas and bringing them to life. By taking part they are not only helping to support the oyster festival but also generating a fabulous community spirit throughout Whitstable and Tankerton. Even though there are awards given out, the real winner is the whole town.  Everyone is invited to come and see what makes Whitstable wonderful!”

Julie Wassmer

Feelgood Factor: Edwina Neal, Julie Wassmer and Janet Clancy after handing out the awards:

You can see more of Gerry Atkinson’s work here.

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