Vincent’s of Wexford Bags Top Award at the 2015 Wexford Fringe Window Display Competition
Vincent’s of Wexford, Selskar, won top prize in this year’s Fringe Window Display Competition, sponsored by Wexford Credit Union. Winning Best Overall Window, Vincent’s was presented with the prestigious Caroline Thomas Memorial Trophy by Ritchie Thomas at a special prize giving ceremony in Wexford Credit Union attended by the competition entrants, Mayor Ger Carthy and Minister Paul Kehoe. This year’s Festival Windows Exhibition ran with an open theme allowing the participants to use their imaginations and go wild!
The Judges awarded the top prize to Vincent’s for their humorous and observant display of all things Irish, cleverly arranged in a fashion that highlighted the colourful culture of all aspects of Irish life, both past and present, and paid homage to our proud heritage. The scene was admired by the judges for resourcefully representing an entertaining cross-section of local and national points of interest and adding a touch of nostalgia amid plenty of topical subject matter. The attention to detail and creative ability to ‘tell a story’ resulted in a window display that was fun, relatable and demonstrated a great pride in our country.
Commenting on their success later, Liz Foley said “The Fringe Windows Competition is nearly as old as the Opera Festival itself! I remember starting in the late 60’s dressing the windows in Corry’s and there was great competition between Kelly’s Bakery and ourselves. Kelly’s always created a brilliant display, making it out of bread and baked goods – brilliant! In 1969, when Neil Armstrong was the first person to walk on the moon, I put a rocket in our window and won the competition!” Liz added that it was always a fun time of year for her and the other participants where the tradition was to watch the opening night fireworks then walk along the town to look at the windows. She also observed that it’s not the prize that attracts the entrants to partake in the competition but the prestige of being a part of this unique festive contest.
Other winners were The Book Centre for ‘Excellence in Creativity’ followed by The Loft in second place. Frock won the ‘Excellence in Imaginative Application’ category with Wexford Insurances taking second place, and Vincent’s of Wexford scooped first place and the overall title in ‘Excellence in Novelty’ followed closely by NCBI. The exhibition was adjudicated by a representative from Wexford Credit Union, and the two assistant stage managers from Wexford Festival Opera. All windows were highly commended this year and judges had a very difficult time in selecting the winners.
“Wexford Credit Union is delighted to sponsor the Wexford Fringe Window Display Competition and look forward to continuing to support this event for years to come. The Credit Union have been involved in the Fringe Festival for a long number of years and it’s great for business in Wexford” said Joss O’Connor, Chairperson of Wexford Credit Union.
Madeleine Quirke, CEO of Wexford Chamber, congratulated all the winners and expressed her delight at the standard of the displays, reminding everyone that this type of ‘exhibition’ was unique to Wexford and the Fringe Festival. She encouraged everyone to continue supporting the event as it is a distinguishing means of drawing people to the town and offering them a different and exciting shopping experience.