2021 Gympie Show: what to expect this year

The countdown is on to the grand return of Gympie’s popular three-day party following its COVID-enforced cancellation last year

Show organiser Deb Brown says she hopes tickets for this year’s Show continue to be snapped as next week’s opening day inches closer and closer.

“They’re nice, but we’d like to see a lot more.”

This is how Gympie Show organisers are describing ticket sales slightly more than a week out from the event’s long-awaited return to the city following last year’s COVID-enforced cancellation.

Organisers took over the Showgrounds on Tuesday to prepare for an event which promises to have a different feel than previous years owing to a novella-sized list of COVID safety guidelines.

Fortunately, the sheer size of regulations has been matched by the community support for this year’s event, especially among the younger generation.

“We’ve got quite a number of students doing work experience ahead of and during he Show,” Show manager and committee secretary Deb Brown said.

This year‘s Gympie Show marks its return following a year off thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.

All the thrilling fun of Sideshow Alley will be back come next Thursday, May 13, though the usual Show multi-ride ticket will not be available this year due to COVID rules.

There would be no shortage of the usual cattle and horse competitions, although timing had an unfortunate impact on some categories.

Ms Brown said the dairy competition would be “very well down” owing to the industry’s ongoing struggle to survive, and Beef Week, currently on in Rockhampton, meant there would be no feature breed in Gympie next week and that stud numbers would be down.

Although the Gympie Show is not running its usual rides promotion this year Ms Brown say all the fun of Sideshow Alley will be back.

“Your cattle numbers are always down when Beef Week is on,” Ms Brown said.

However the fruit and vegetable categories were always guaranteed to be great and this year students’ schoolwork presentations would also be a standout.

And, Ms Brown said, it was important to remember entries were still open.

“It’ll be the Show as usual, albeit with quite a lot of restrictions in place,” she said.

This meant the APEX dining was off the menu, with the floor space instead being used to expand other areas impacted by COVID restrictions.

Entertainment in the Pavilion would not be making an appearance this year, either.

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Originally published as 2021 Gympie Show: what to expect this year