By Pam Kiriakidis
The Whittlesea Show has returned to full operation, preparing for two-days of attractions and exhibits for families in early November.
After a three-year hiatus, the Whittlesea Agricultural Society is on track to organise the show’s welcoming atmosphere, with attractions, exhibitor sections and pavilion displays to feature at Victoria’s longest running show.
Whittlesea Agricultural Society president Erica Hawke said the society was thrilled to compile a high-octane show.
“It’s really wonderful to be working as a family again, having people in the office and on the ground. Everyone is happy to be back, and everyone is working hard and looking forward to having the show,” she said.
Families from across Victoria can engage with the attractions and pavilions, featuring an education section, farm and garden, live music, woodchop, and new attractions such as ferret racing.
“There’s a huge range of different areas where people can enter their exhibits in the show. People can enter craft or garden produce from a learnt new skill across the last couple of years,” Ms Hawke said.
“This year in farm and garden there’s a new class to enter ‘Jar of Honey’, which we haven’t had for a while. Lots of back yard apiarists have now come on board through COVID, which has been fantastic, so we’re trying to cater to those needs.”
Ms Hawke thanked sponsors helping to run the show and pavilions.
She said the society was thankful to the naming rights sponsors that contributed to the pavilions, including the animal nursery sponsored by real estate company Buckingham and Co.
Long-time sponsor TLC, an aged care facility, also pledged their support to the homecraft pavilion – another favourite attraction at the show.
The City of Whittlesea is the show’s major sponsor, offering its support as the naming right sponsor of the grand parade, which is held each day at 3pm.
Ms Hawke said the grand parade was a great combination of everything the Whittlesea Show encompassed.
“All of the winning exhibits parade as well as heritage vehicles from the heritage pavilion. We have cattle, horses, sheep, and the winners from the young person competition,” she said.
Ms Hawke said securing grants such as a City of Whittlesea grant for first-aid training for the society’s volunteers had allowed the show to prosper.
She said she was grateful for the grants, considering the society’s lack of events due to the pandemic.
“Having a grant gives us the funds and the ability to dress up these areas and make changes and improvements we wanted to do,” she said.
“Obviously not having the show for two years means the coffers are running low.
“There have been no income in general, which has been quite tricky for agricultural pastoral societies across Victoria and across Australia with cancellations.”
However, one benefit to lockdowns was that they allowed people to learn new skills that could be displayed at the show.
“They’ve had the opportunity to learn new skills, whether it was knitting or sewing, like growing beehives or growing things in their gardens,” she said.
“All of those things can be entered to the Whittlesea Show as an exhibit, so [for] those people who haven’t entered before, it’s going to be amazing to see two years’ worth of items.
“You can always hope it’s going to be bigger and better but it’s the crowd that also helps to make it the amazing show that it is, by people taking part, interacting and visiting.”
The show will be at Whittlesea Showgrounds on Yea Road, Whittlesea, on November 5 and 6.
People can find more information at www.whittleseashow.org.au.
