There's something wonderfully Australian about a home town Agricultural Show.
It's a place where flannelettes, tweed coats, driza-bones, akubras, steak burgers and a slow Aussie drawl are considered the norm.
But anybody can go to the Show and we reckon everybody should. If not to learn a bit more about your local farmers then to engage with your wider community. And perhaps while you're there you'll find a way of participating with both by taking part in next year's Show.
As you know, we have a pretty big family here at maggie+boyd and this weekend will see quite a few of the clan coming together to help at our home town Show - the Maleny Agricultural Show.
It all started for us back in 1946 when Grandad began competing in horse events.
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| Grandad on Jewel at a local Horse Show |
Gran soon started a food stall to feed the hungry competitors and their judges, keeping them sufficiently full over the 2 day event. It's this horse stall that draws the family home each and every year to lend a hand. Some help in the ring setting up horse jumps and stewarding for the judges, others run the stall and everyone cooks food to bring.
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| Grandad and Gran with a few of their horses |
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| Gran in her current consultative capacity |
There are a few general rules about going to the Maleny Show -
It will always be cold
It will generally rain at some stage
You should be prepared to work all day and then trot off for a beverage or four at the bar once dark has fallen.
Keeping this in mind we thought we'd help you out with a few fashion essentials if you decide to head out to the Show this winter. Whether you're a seasoned Show goer or new to the day it's a good idea to grab a couple of key pieces that will see you right no matter if you're up hill, down dale or in the city. Back in the day tweed coats, hats and wonderfully paired accessories were all the rage...nothing's really changed.
Check it out
Sadly we are seeing more and more Ag Shows getting smaller and smaller. It's a real shame to lose that connection to our local farmers, and even more so to lose what to many small towns is one fo the few whole of community gatherings. So we'd like to take the opportunity to tell you how you can get involved and keep your local Show on the up and up.
Most Shows feature Sections for Cattle and Horses and many include Sections for Goats, Angoras, Sheep, Poultry, Pigeons, Caged Birds and Pigs where appropriate and in accordance with local trends. Pavilion exhibits are enormous and include Cut Flowers, Floral Art, Potted Plants, Craft, Cookery, Needlework, Photography and Fine Arts to name but a few. Growing up we entered things each year from chooks to pikelets and artwork. For this show we've entered some crochet items and cut flowers.
It's not really about winning or even about competing, it's more about making sure there are things on display. As kids it was always awesome to wander round with your mates and point out to each other all your different entries, sometimes getting a surprise to see an award certificate sitting next to it! As adults with the next generation under-foot it seems even more important to continue these events and encourage them to take part as well.
So why not slick back your pooch's hair, dig out Granny's knitting needles or bake a batch of scones with the kids and put an entry of your own in your local Show. Better yet get your mates involved and see who can knock out the best chocolate cake - we even have a Men's Only Packet Cake Section at our Show!! Or offer your sevices for an hour at the cake stall, help before the event to set up the arena or pop in afterwards and stack up the chairs.
Our local Shows' successes are due to strong community support, so go on, get involved, have a laugh and don't forget your gum-boots.
We're off now to get into baking mode - pumpkin cakes, sausage rolls, pea and ham soup. It's all on the menu for this year's Maleny Show. Keep an eye out over the next few weeks as we bring you more happenings, pics and tips that we pick up along the way.
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