The Farmers Mart Apr/May 2014 - Issue 33 | Page 26

EVENTS

(L-R) Stephen Edwards, ex-chairman of Driffield Agricultural Society; John Clancy, present chairman; Duncan
Lambert, director and general manager of Rix Petroleum; Derek Lamplough, president of Driffield Agricultural
Society, and; David Tite, chief executive of Driffield Agricultural Society at Driffield Show Field.

RIX PETROLEUM AND DRIFFIELD
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY AGREE
MAJOR SPONSORSHIP DEAL
LEADING East Yorkshire fuel company Rix Petroleum has been
announced as the headline sponsor of a major new entertainments
venue earmarked for Driffield’s historic showground.
The £281,000 development,
which will improve and
extend the current farmers’
market building, has been
christened the Rix Pavilion
after the company agreed a
five-figure sponsorship deal
with Driffield Agricultural
Society.

‘a real honour’
The arrangement will also
see Rix Petroleum’s branding
appear on the signs around the
showground promoting a host
of events on the site, including
Driffield Show and the Game
and Country Fair.
And a specially designed Rix
fuel tanker commemorating the
five-year agreement has been
commissioned by the company
to serve farmers and rural

26

Apr/May 2014 FarmersMart

communities in Driffield and
surrounding areas.
Duncan Lambert, director
and general manager of Rix
Petroleum, said the sponsorship
deal extended the already strong
ties between the company and
Driffield Agricultural Society.
Rix Petroleum has attended
Driffield Show for 66 years in
succession and occupies one of
the largest exhibition spaces on
site every year.
Mr Lambert said: “We have
been serving farmers in East
Yorkshire for more than 100
years and for a great many of
those we have been attending
Driffield Show. As a result we
have developed a close working
relationship with the Agricultural
Society.
“Partnering with them to
sponsor the new building is a

real source of pride for us and
we are delighted they have
chosen to call it the Rix Pavilion,
it is a real honour.”
David Tite, Chief Executive
of Driffield Agricultural Society,
said the building would be
unlike any other in the town
and would provide a top class
venue for conferences, dinner
dances, concerts and theatrical
performances.
It will also enable the society to
stage events indoors, making it
less dependent on the weather,
Mr Tite said.
“There is always the threat of
a wet show week which means
we can lose a lot of income,” he
said.
“That happened in 2011 and
2012 and was quite damaging,
but it taught us a valuable
lesson.

“We discussed the idea of
a really good indoor venue as
far back as 2009 but funding
was an issue at the time. Now,
thankfully, that is in place and we
can go ahead with our plans.
“We believe the new venue will
help us maximise the potential
of the showground and really
benefit the town.”
The building will feature
a mobile stage and dance
floor, dining and conferencing
facilities and seati