Visitors
A very successful event
This year our visitor numbers increased for the third year and we are so grateful for this during these challenging times. We also had a full house in exhibition terms. We introduced new specialist zones and for the first time, in support of the Biblefresh initiative we presented the Museum of the Book.
This review is designed to give a flavour of the event for those who were not able to make it this year. We hope you will join us for our next event which is Telford 21 - 23 October, followed by Peterborough 24 - 26 February 2011 and then we are back to Sandown Park 10 - 13 May 2011.
Every morning there were queues of eager visitors and one couple told us that they take their annual holiday at Sandown as they find there is so much to see and do.
The show was officially opened by Elder Fu who travelled from China to support the work being done by Bible Society. Elder Fu is the official leader of the 28.6 million strong protestant church in China. Seen in the picture with his translator, Elder Fu commented on the need to be there for the long term and he celebrated the 25 years that China had been working with Bible Society to further the word of God in his country.
Afterwards he toured the show encouraging many ministries in their efforts.
The team from China is pictured on the Bible Society stand with James Catford, Group Chief Executive, Bible Society. Kua Wee Seng gave three major talks on the untold story about how in China the Bible has gone from being a banned book to a best seller.
Kingsway one of CRE's main sponsors presented a modern display, they were certainly the tallest exhibition in the centre.
In addition, they brought some great speakers and performers to the exhibition including Stuart Townend, New Wine Worship Team, and the best selling author Francis Chan.
Living Oasis was also one of the larger stands, and they added the novel feature that if you bought an item on the stand you could have a free coffee. Clearly they knew how much the coffee was in the coffee shops so they had a steady stream of people buying their product!
Most of the major Christian media took a stand at the exhibition including God TV, Revelation TV, and Premier Radio .
God TV were also filming their supporters who came to the exhibition, which brought excitement and fear to the visitors who don't like to speak in public.
The daily live broacasts by Premier Radio from CRE, hosted by Cindy Kent, included celebrity speakers and artists who spoke or preformed within the programme. Cindy also ran a daily live spot from the Spotlight Stage in the Toybox Cafe.
One of Cindy's guest was Graham Cole who plays Tony Stamp in "The Bill" who was on hand to launch a survey commissioned by Sorted Magazine about the church-going habits of men. The statistics show that we have a lot to do as the "church" to attract and interest men back into the church, when we have to compete with DIY or sports on a Sunday.
This year we had six specialised Zones including the Sports zone. One of the exhibitors - More than Gold, was giving information on how to maximise the benefit of the Olympics in 2012.
Pictured in the Sports Zone is the keepy-uppy world champion Dan Magness, doing his stuff before flying out to perform at the Europa Cup Final.
Another exciting zone was Biblefresh which is promoting the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible. Within this zone was the Museum of the Bible which not only featured a first edition of the King James Bible, but also many celebrity Bibles including one owned by Elvis Presley.
George Hamilton IV , pictured with David Smith currator of the Museum, used to sing on the same shows with Elvis and knew him well.
Of course thousands came to see the resources on show from over 400 stands of all shapes and sizes.
The Christian Resources Exhibition stand featured information on the next three events kicking off with the Heart of England Exhibition at the TIC in Telford from the 21st - 23rd of October, concluding on the Saturday evening with Prom Praise presented by the All Souls Orchestra. In February CRE will be at the East of England Exhibition held at the Excel Centre in Peterborough from the 24th - 26th, and then of course we will be back in Sandown for the International Christian Resources Exhibition from 10th to 13th of May 2011.
Also launched on the CRE stand was our new Jobfile resource in partnership with Christian Vocation. Click here if you want to post a vacancy. Click here to look at the jobs on offer or
One of the highlights of the week was "An Evening with Pam and Rachel" where Pam Rhodes and Rachel Gardner interviewed and introduced an amazing evening of talent that thrilled the audience.
Guests included Siku who spoke about his work as an artist and illustrator as well as his faith walk. He is famous for illustrating the Manga Bible.
One of the big hits during the evening, and also earlier in the day in the Arts Theatre, was Sons of Korah who came over from Australia to be at the exhibition and are now touring the country.
The night was full of music and great interviews and another highlight was Tara Mathews who also provided worship in song for the exhibitors devotions each morning.
Sandown 2010 was a vintage year and the feedback from visitors and exhibitors has been very encouraging and we hope to welcome you in 2011.