Showtime in Horsham
After moving to a Saturday date, plenty of new and returning items of interest will feature at the 2023 Horsham Show.
This year’s event starts with a twilight opening on Friday, between 5pm and 9pm, before a full-day program on Saturday from 10am until 10pm.
Horsham Agricultural Society secretary Andrea Cross said there was a wide range of new attractions to look out for this year, including feature items to attract more adults to the event.
“We have stable one open for wine, and we’ve never had wineries represented here before,” she said.
“While that is not a competition, we are showcasing local wineries within 150 kilometres of Horsham — travelling from South Australia, Southern Grampians and the Pyrenees.
“Another thing that’s new, which coincides with the Saturday night, is Horsham Show After Dark. It is open to people over the age of 18 and we will have live music, entertainment and it will be licenced.”
Mrs Cross said there would also be plenty to see and do for children and families.
“Maydale Pavilion is going to be the hub for children’s free arts and crafts activities and entertainment. The Mik Maks, a children’s band, is playing between 1pm and 2pm on Saturday,” she said.
“Then there’s still the makers pavilion with all the art, craft and cooking.”
She said cattle would be exhibited with a display using special lighting and music, as part of a broader move to include a variety of sights.
“We have a beef cattle exhibit in the old Tucker Pavilion and there’s about four different breeds included,” Mrs Cross said.
“There’s also a new interactive wool display that is actually taken from the fleece competition, which is now held at our merino sheep show in the autumn.
“We have a couple of local blade shearers, who are going to do some outdoor demonstrations after they compete and explain to the crowd the different blows in shearing.”
Mrs Cross said the agricultural elements of the show would remain the same, except for the sheep show section, which would not feature this year due to the Royal Melbourne Show’s change of exhibiting days.
“That’s a bit of a disappointment. However, we have a local wool grower and meat grower who are going to exhibit sheep,” she said.
A fireworks display starts at 8.30pm on Saturday.
People wanting more information can go to the show’s Facebook page or horsham show.com.au