Bling and Butterflies

I don’t know who is more excited about going to the Sydney Royal Easter Show this year, me or the kids! I haven’t been to the show for (I’m guessing) 30 years and the kids, well they’ve never been. Given we live 3 hours from Sydney, it’s not our “local”.

I may have been a little sneaky and probably a bit selfish too… but I did a trade off to get there. For years I had promised my boys a birthday party and this was going to be THE year. But after seeing an advertisement for the Easter Show, yes I’m an advertising sucker, the idea came to fruition. It’s just lucky their birthdays are very close together in March.

I figured going to the Easter Show for the 4 of us would roughly cost the same as I would spend on 2 birthday parties. I think. So I presented my proposal and let them sit on the idea.

Luckily they both came to the same decision, not sure what I would have done if it was a split decision. I’m sure the youngest one doesn’t really know what he’s agreed to, he just knows it’s supposed to be heaps of fun.

We’ve not long had our own local Show which is a small regional Show we all look forward to every year. So regional that the school teachers walk all the kids down to the Show on Friday, check out the pavilions etc and get a free milkshake – no rides of course. The Berry Show Society are very generous and let the whole school go through for free! It’s “The Greatest Show in Town”.

We love our local Show. We love the kids animal competition, the pavilion entries and the rivalry between the locals, horse competitions, the rides, demonstrations, fireworks… so much we enjoy. My oldest won the potty calf section of the rodeo this year, so stoked he was. His $20 prize money went straight into his money box. For a small Show there’s a load to see and do, and the community feel is overwhelming.

Although my kids love our town Show, my memories of going to the Sydney Royal Easter Show each year vary hugely to their experience. Back then (in the olden days) it was at Moore Park and you would walk and walk and walk and still not see, do, participate, ride or taste everything.

We would stay all day and all night, our feet would be so so sore and we still needed to catch the train back to my Nana’s where we would stay. Our arms would be loaded with balloons, kewpie dolls, show bags and sample bags but there was always room for one more.  It was just as much fun emptying them out all over the floor back at Nana’s and reliving the whole day again.

From our Show archives…

It’s either stinking hot or it rains…

So many Easter Show memories, I only hope it still lives up to my childhood memory standards! I have no doubt it will and my children will then have some of their own.

So in preparation I have been talking to friends, some who go each year and others who have just gone along for the experience. I’ve been reading the articles in the newspaper and trawling the Sydney Royal Easter Show website and using their apple app (you might like the adroid app) – very informative for a novice like myself. The depth of information is incredible. How wonderful it would have been to have this amount of information back in my day…

The app suggested this for me obviously…

Yes the youngest was interested in this one.

This was a family winner.

The website and app allow you to build your favourites list for EVERYTHING, I mean… E V E R Y T H I N G !  I’m sure if you were looking for a needle in a hay stack, you would be able to find it there. All the times for shows and demonstrations, number of tokens you need for rides as well as the rides themselves, food shops and types of food can be found.  Then there’s show bag details, show offers (app only), how to get there… so much information I’ll stop right now.

For someone who likes to plan, it’s the detail to dates and times aided by the linkages to the showground map that sets my heart a flutter. I can rule out shows etc that won’t be there on the day we’re going. The best part… it all comes to the Easter Show with me, all my planning is in my pocket. And if the Bluetooth is on while I’m there, freebies available nearby might pop on my screen! Love.

The most eagerly anticipated arrival finally came today… the 2016 Sunday Telegraph Show Guide. The kid’s didn’t have a favourite section, they loved the entire guide.  They liked being able to see what’s in the 350 show bags. I liked seeing how much they cost and making the kids decide before we get there. The plan is to go straight into the pavilion, buy the bags then head straight back out… without getting distracted!! Works in theory.

Oh but hold on, there’s so many animals to look at. They love to see them all around where we live and I’m sure they’ll be just as interesting in the big city! The variety have their eyes wide open… Then there was last years pumpkin that weighed 728kg that was later delivered to the Taronga Zoo for the elephants. Oh and of course, there were the rides!

I found my favourite ride, Star of the Show. It’s 32 metres high and has rotating gondolas. Looks so pretty at night time too. I thought I’d have a favourite section too but the Guide’s so jam packed we’ll be reading it for weeks, finding new things all the time. Good idea to buy 2 copies!

Hubster’s favourite section seems to be reading up on how to get to The Daily Telegraph Paddock and how many Royals it will cost for beer and wine tasting in the Sydney Royal Beer and Wine Garden. I like the sound of that too, we will have earned that! Oh sorry I’ve been corrected, it’s straight to the Cattleman’s Bar…  I think he is under the impression we’ll leave him there, um NO!

I thought I had seen changes to the way the Easter Show operates, promotes and the experiences that are on offer but for a Show which dates back 193 years – yes that’s right – it seems there are generations who have seen the changes. The Royal Agricultural Society of NSW put together an amazing event, for lack of a better word.

May the Show Gods be with us when we make the 3 hour trek. And if you’re off to your local Show or even the big one in Sydney too, may the Show Gods be with you too!

“When the country comes to the city”

… well said to the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW, here we come in our comfy shoes!

Bling and Butterflies xo