February 27, 2017
A crowd of about 50 people packed the Proston Community Hall on Saturday night to revive one of the town’s long-standing traditions.
The Proston Show Ball, which hasn’t been held for several years, was revived as a Rock & Roll Dance, and it proved to be a crowd-pleaser.
Guests of all ages queued for freshly-made popcorn and milkshakes at the kitchen, or danced to entertainment from DJ Michael Hams and a bonus rock & roll band put together by Show Society supporters just for the evening.
They could also browse a small but fascinating display of 1950s items put together by Brian Labudda from Wondai Traders, take in a light supper, get refreshments at the bar, and meet this year’s Miss Proston Showgirl, Rural Ambassador and Junior Rural Ambassador.
Show Society secretary Glenda McArdle said the idea for the dance came from the Proston Show’s impending 60th anniversary next year.
“We haven’t had a Show Ball for the past few years, but we wanted to bring it back,” Glenda said.
“Someone suggested we rework it as a dance instead of a formal ball, and we thought that was a good idea.
“We decided we’d hold a 1950s-style dance this year, a 1960s-style dance next year, a 1970s-style dance the year after that … and so on.
“This means we’ll have something different to offer for the next 5 or 6 years before we need to come up with another concept.”
Glenda said this year’s Show, which will be held on Saturday, March 11 will be something special, thanks to sponsorship from Kingaroy RSL who are covering the costs of the evening’s entertainment – Vanessa Lee and Highway 65 – and part of the fireworks display.
In addition to all the Show’s usual features, the prime cattle section will be expanding this year and a large ute muster with an extended number of categories will be running from 4:00pm until the evening fireworks.
There’ll also be face painting, Viv’s Animal Farm, Willy the Worm, a whip cracking competition, chainsaw racing, a slide and jumping castle, and dodgem cars on the grounds to keep children happily amused.
Proston Show Society president Bill Meiers told the dance crowd that the trade display section of the Show is almost packed to capacity this year, and he’s hoping for the usual strong roll up in the beef cattle and equestrian events.
South Burnett Deputy Mayor Kathy Duff, who is also a member of the Show Society, said she was looking forward to this year’s Show.
“The Proston Show is always a great day out, and the quality of the cattle is usually amazing,” she said.
“But there really is something for everyone, so I hope as many people as possible can make it on Show day.”
- External link: 2017 Proston Show schedule
The Blast from the Past night was certainly a great night. Can’t wait for the show 11th of March