26 January 2009

The Bungendore Show 2009 - A review

| johnboy
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Coming over Smiths Gap yesterday the Bungendore showground was a sea of white trailers, the show was in town.

If you’ve never been to smaller country shows then I recommend the experience. Where the larger Royal shows tend to have a zillion empty stages at any given moment the smaller shows keep the action rolling in front of you.

Smaller shows tend to be cheap ($10 for Bungendore), easy to get into and out of, and most importantly you can take your dog.

(Slideshow and more below)

Why there was a ride shaped like a giant shark dominating proceedings was a mystery to me.

Why almost none of the kids in the scone buttering competition could follow the clear instructions or the example of their failed predecessors was also perplexing. (The timekeepers were hardly needed for all the disqualifications).

How a picture of me came second in the portrait prize to a goofy faced kid in a cliche reflection shot was less confusing.

Being a country show both kelpies and Nationals balloons were well represented, but the brave Labor member for Monaro, Steve Whan, had his stall up and was deep in conversation with men in big hats.

If I’ve got one criticism though, it would have been nice to have more seating out for the punters. Just some hay bales under the shade structure would have been fine.

In any event, country shows are good fun and highly recommended. Most of the fun of the bigger shows for a fraction of the cost and stress.

Just be warned that you’ll need to traipse through what looks like campsites to get to all of the areas.

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Bungendore is a classic country type show. Not as commercial as the Canberra Show. Also no social problems like you’ll find at the Canberra Show.

It is usually a very hot dusty day but this year it was very pleasant and even the countryside looked green.

The horse show is one of the best in the region while there was also a great dog show.

The crowd loved the dog races. They were a development from last year’s show due to the equine influenza break out that affected last year’s show.

I was helping the Nationals out and we gave out nearly 400 balloons.

I had a great time with the kids and a few friends – except for the outrageous cost for a simple game and rides.

Not an area I’m really fit to comment on I’m afraid.

How did Bungendore compare to Canberra show for competition in the best sponge cake and best embroidery? My gut feeling is that country shows generally have more competition for these than what Canberra offers, although I’m sure nothing like the competition at Sydney or Melbourne shows.

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