AN AFFORDABLE, fun day out was on offer for families at the Jeparit Show on Sunday.
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Horse competitions, an animal nursery, puppet show, jumping castle and showbags brought people of all ages to the town’s annual event.
Show society president Yolande Hutson said there were about 500 entries in the various competitions on offer at the show.
Competitions included cooking, home produce, vegetables, sheep, grain, art, poultry and photography.
Judging got underway in the morning, which was followed by a community lunch.
West Wimmera Health Service offered free health checks, while the Wimmera Hearing Society had its van set up at the showgrounds.
Ms Hutson said the weather was perfect for the event.
“Last year we got rained out, but this year was a lot better,” she said.
“The rain last year affected our gate takings, so we had to fundraise more this year to put on the show.”
Ms Hutson said the animal nursery and Professor Wallace’s Puppet Theatre were highlights for the children.
“The children always seem to migrate towards the animal nursery – we never have to offer much else, they love it,” she said.
This year’s show included a revamped art section.
“We received heaps more entries for the art competition and they all looked fantastic,” Ms Hutson said.
She said the photography competition was also hotly contested.
“We had fewer entries this year, but the judge had to sleep overnight on one award and it took her two days to decide the other, so what entries we had were really good,” she said.
“One winning photograph got 99 out of 100 and the other got 99.5 out of 100.
“We also had an increase in our rose competition this year – we had hardly any last year, so it’s good to see its been a better season.”
Ms Hutson said it could be difficult for smaller communities to run shows because of the cost.
“That’s why we try to make our day an affordable fun day out,” she said.
“What other show can you get two adults and two children in for $20?
“We really try to keep the costs right down to encourage people to come along.
“It’s important that our smaller shows continue because they bring everyone in the town together.”
Ms Hutson said weeks of hard work went into organising the annual event.
A good growing season meant crop entries were outstanding this year at the Jeparit Show.
Judge Rob Lynch said while entries were slightly down in the competition, the quality was beautiful.
“The heads in the wheat and barley have filled out beautifully and we had an outstanding chickpea crop,” he said.
“It’s been a reasonable season – not as good as last year, but better than the few before.”
Jeparit’s Clem Plech said sheep entries were up on last year.
“There are more lambs this year than I have seen in a long time,” he said.
“It’s obviously been a good year.”
In the plant competition, Lucy Robinson and Tess Robinson enjoyed stewarding on Sunday.
Lucy said they were stewards at the show every year.
“I really like it because we get to see lots of different plants,” she said.
Tess said it gave them something to do in the morning of the show.