{"id":306700,"date":"2021-10-04T15:42:56","date_gmt":"2021-10-04T05:42:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=306700"},"modified":"2021-10-04T15:42:56","modified_gmt":"2021-10-04T05:42:56","slug":"show-society-down-but-not-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2021\/10\/04\/show-society-down-but-not-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Show Society Down But Not Out!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Wondai Show Society judges Margaret Burrows, Natasha Angel and Winston Burrows selected this year’s competition winners<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

October 4, 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n

The pandemic has given the Wondai Show Society a particularly tough trot over the past two years.<\/p>\n

The first wave of COVID forced the Show Society to abandon plans to hold the 2020 Wondai Show and the town’s popular Christmas Eve Carnival.<\/p>\n

And this year the Brisbane lockdown – and the possibility of future lockdowns – forced the cancellation of the 2021 show.<\/p>\n

Long-serving Show Society president Dennis Morris said the decision to cancel this year’s show was particularly hard to make.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But organisers felt the shortage of showies, compulsory COVID restrictions on events and – most importantly – the Wondai community’s high average age and low vaccination rates left little choice.<\/p>\n

“We’ve copped a bit of criticism from some quarters about the decision to cancel the show two years in a row,” Dennis said.<\/p>\n

“But we care about our community and all the people who come to our show, so we felt it was the right thing to do in the circumstances.”<\/p>\n

Last year’s cancellation also meant the Show Society did not call nominations for its annual Miss Showgirl and Rural Ambassador roles.<\/p>\n

But this year – to ensure Wondai has a place in the regional roll-up – the Society put out a call for nominations and was delighted to receive several.<\/p>\n

Judging and presentations of the 2021 winners took place at Wondai’s Showgrounds on Sunday night.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dennis thanked the Show Society’s sponsors and members for their hard work during the past two years and their ongoing support for the 104-year-old institution.<\/p>\n

He also thanked the nominees who had come forward for the 2021 competition.<\/p>\n

“Development of our youth is so important to the continuation of show societies,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Our own Show Society has blossomed over the past 10 years because of an infusion of young people in our ranks.<\/p>\n

“They’ve brought in a fresh perspective and new ideas, and it’s benefited everyone.”<\/p>\n

He then announced the judges had selected Carla Hedges from Kingaroy as Miss Mini Showgirl and Irene Pearce from Wondai as runner-up, with Riley Hood-Carey selected as 2021’s Junior Rural Ambassador.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, two further nominations for Miss Junior Showgirl and Miss Showgirl could not be processed because both nominees were unable to attend the judging.<\/p>\n

Footnote: At present, the Show Society plans to bring Wondai’s Christmas Eve Carnival back to life this year. However, this is subject to the pandemic situation stabilising.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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