SHOWTIME: How hard work led to today’s open gates

Thousands are expected at the two-day Fraser Coast event after it was cancelled last year. Here, the show society president reflects on the road to today.

The Fraser Coast Agriculture Show has return for 2021 and will be held on May 20 to 21 at the Maryborough Show Grounds.

As she prepared for the gates to open on Thursday morning, Fraser Coast Agricultural Show Society president Melinda Wright reflected on the hard effort she and many others put in to make the event a reality

The 2020 Ag Show was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Ms Wright believes the momentum behind this year’s event will make the 2021 show one of the best yet.

Fraser Coast Show Society President Melinda Wright. Photo: Stuart Fast

“A lot of hard work has gone on behind the scenes, it’s predominantly volunteers giving their time and resources and they’ve done an amazing job,” she said.

“At this year’s show we’ve got Guy McLean our amazing horseman, K’Gari kelpie dog jump and our first ever little farmer’s club.

“We’ve also got 100 free ice creams for Mr Whippy on Thursday and 100 free ice creams on Friday.”

Ms Wright said pre-event ticket sales had been good but due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, the number of visitors to the show was capped at 10 000 people per day.

“If you pre-book you will be guaranteed a ticket but you can get tickets at the gate via EFTPOS payment only,” she said.

“We do hope we get to the cap of 10 000, we want the community to be involved but we also need to make a profit so the community can enjoy a 2022 show.”

Ms Wright advised people to maintain social distancing at the show and encouraged the people of the Fraser Coast to come down to the Maryborough Showgrounds for the big event.

The Fraser Coast Ag Show is being held at the Maryborough Showgrounds on Thursday May 20 and Friday May 21.

Tickets for the event can be booked here.

Originally published as SHOWTIME: How hard work led to today’s open gates