March 17, 2019
The drought that’s gripped Queensland has claimed many casualties over the past few years … and this year, Kingaroy Show’s free show bags have joined the list.
The popular annual show is only seven weeks away, and Show Society officials are already gearing up for a jam-packed two day event on May 4-5.
As usual, this year’s event will feature a full spread of horse, cattle and poultry events, drawing exhibitors to the Showgrounds in search of highly prized ribbons.
There’ll also be hotly contested pavilion competitions covering everything from cookery to needlework, sideshow alley and the speedway on Sunday night.
But one small thing that will be missing from the program this year are showbags.
The free show bags were introduced by the Show Society several years ago and proved a hit with children.
But this year they’ve become another victim of the drought.
“The drought has hit almost everyone hard, including us,” Show Society committee member Craig Lucas told southburnett.com.au.
“Sponsorships are down and so are numbers at our caravan park, which means we’ve had to trim our sails a bit to make up the difference.”
The show bags cost the Show Society about $10,000 every year and were an obvious choice for a cut.
“We want to put on the best show possible, and we’re sure we’ll have a really great weekend for the whole family.
“But with all our costs going up and funding down, we had to make a sacrifice somewhere.”
Craig said the decision was a difficult one for the Show Society to make, and he hoped show goers would understand.
“We know some parents will be a bit disappointed, that’s only natural,” he said.
“But doing this will let us run all the other things that make the show the best family weekend ever.”
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Another casualty of the drought is this Kingaroy Show Ball, which is usually held several weeks beforehand.
The Show Ball offers dinner, dancing and the formal announcement of Miss Showgirl, Rural Ambassador and Junior Miss Showgirl.
This year the Show Society will again be holding a more relaxed function at Kingaroy Showgrounds instead of the Kingaroy Town Hall.
The Show Society has put a call out for entrants for the competitions.
“The Miss Showgirl and Rural Ambassador help at the show opening and during the day and also go on to compete in the Sub-Chamber finals later in the year against other South Burnett shows,” Craig said.
“If they’re selected to represent the South Burnett at the Sub-Chamber level, they go on to compete at the Ekka against Miss Showgirls and Rural Ambassadors from all over Queensland.
“These competitions are a fantastic pathway for young people, and several South Burnett entrants have gone on to claim State titles at the Ekka in recent years.”
Entrants for Rural Ambassador must be aged between 20-30 on May 1; Miss Showgirl entrants must be aged 18-28 on August 1; and Junior Miss Showgirl entrants must be aged 12-17 on August 1.
They must also be available to attend this year’s Kingaroy Show on May 4-5.
There’s no cost to enter and there’s some great prizes to be won at the local, Sub-Chamber and Ekka levels.
More details and entry forms can be obtained by phoning the Show Society’s office on (07) 4162-5800.
