Wednesday 7 July 2010

The Show

It's a bit of a tradition in small rural towns to get dressed up and go to the show. When my husband was a child, his Mum sewed new outfits for the kids every year, to attend the show. Local papers, business' windows and conversations are filled with news and expectations for the show - will it rain?, which day are you attending?, are you putting anything into the show? and so on...

When I lived in cities, I went to The Sydney Royal Easter Show in Sydney and The Ekka in Brisbane, but I didn't really understand the history and primary focus of these agricultural shows. The emphasis was on rides, food, show bags and entertainment.

When I moved to my husband's home town - a farming town in North Queensland - I saw the show in a different light. There was a much stronger focus on agriculture, cooking, arts, crafts and animals. I was thrilled to see the showcase of almost-forgotten skills, and the enthusiasm of those involved in these displays. I was so rapt that I came up with my own entries - rosella jam, garden produce and photographs. And our children entered their cooking and artwork. And we won prizes of $2 and $4 and little First Prize certificates. And I felt like we were part of something often overlooked by a lot of the younger generation.

Atherton Show, 1904
Photo: Eacham Historical Society


We've since moved again, and this past week we've been preparing artworks and poring over Show Schedules to be sure that each entry is presented correctly and delivered on the right day. In a couple of days we'll attend the show and rush to the pavilion to admire everyone's efforts (and check if we won any prizes)!

4 comments:

Vic said...

Good luck! I love a small town show! After the council amalgamations we now longer have separate shows in our region, just one "Fraser Coast" show. It's a bit disappointing really, it feels like lots of littler towns have lost their identity. Anyway, that's a tangent! Have a great time at the show!!!
Vic xx

Sweetchili said...

Ohh, that sounds so lovely!

Good luck!!!

Foxglove said...

The show sounds wonderful, unfortunately this is something that is lacking greatly in our cities. I hope you have a marvellous time, good luck with your entries.

Bel said...

We had a really nice time, and stayed to see the fireworks, which we hadn't done for years.

The children won prizes in the various competitions, sometimes because of lack of other entries! Between them they won 1st and show champion for junior needlework (knitting by Immi), 2nd & 3rd in intermediate digital art (Brit), 2nd & 3rd in intermediate pastel drawing (Abby & Immi), 1st in construction (Heath). Well done, kids!