Country, town and city folk united at the 74th annual Upper Clutha A and P Show in Wanaka yesterday, with Christchurch earthquake evacuees joining hundreds of Central Otago locals to enjoy a wide range of exhibits and trade stalls.
The two-day show opened in the rain yesterday, forcing the New Zealand Army Band to perform its first show without electronic equipment.
Sunshine had broken through by lunchtime, bringing smiles to everyone's faces, and the musicians were able to perform their intended programme in the afternoon.
The band is based at Burnham military base and the musicians are all active servicemen and servicewomen.
The band is the defence force's most prominent public relations unit and had been at an Abu Dhabi defence force exhibition when the Christchurch earthquake struck, administration officer Graeme Bremner said yesterday.
"All our families and friends are well.
"Obviously there has been some damage to property but there were no major injuries," he said.
Dozens of Christchurch school children now studying at Wanaka schools were also at the show, as were many Canterbury farmers and employees of Christchurch-based rural services companies.
The Beef and Lamb New Zealand tent was a popular place to hang out, with top New Zealand women's track cyclist Alison Shanks, of Dunedin, former All Black Richard Loe of Canterbury, European butcher Keith Fisher and Invercargill chef Graham Hawkes presiding over 20 cuts of meat in the national finals of the Glammies Awards.
Lawrence farmers Barbara and Lyn Murray and Murray Rose emerged the victors with their Perfintex sheep meat, which was processed at Alliance Mataura.
Shanks admitted she was struggling to get through the task as quickly as Loe, who raced through the mouthfuls with relish.
Shanks had been cycling in the rain earlier in the morning, as part of her preparation for the World Championships in the Netherlands, and was happy to load up on protein afterwards.
"They were all so good," she said.
"It actually takes a bit to concentrate and rank each one.
"There was definitely a lot of meat going on there.
"I was prewarned to take small chunks but there was still a lot of meat," she said.
Shanks leaves for the Netherlands on Wednesday and has been training in Invercargill for the past week with the New Zealand track squad.
She will compete in the teams pursuit and the individual pursuit.
Loe, who farms in the Waimakariri district, said he was probably a faster eater because there was no red wine to go with it.
A regular Glammies judge, Loe found the competition "more even" this year.
Butcher Keith Fisher also found the taste test difficult because of the consistent quality.
"I had to really sift through it find a fault.
"They were all like peas in a pod," he said.
The show continues today from 9.30am.
