A few heavy bursts of rain wasn’t enough to dampen the spirits of attendees at this year’s 103rd Southland A&P Show, which featured the theme "Celebrate Southland".
Held at Donovan Park on Saturday, the event attracted a consistent stream of thousands of people throughout the day — and in a first for the show, a Friday Night Market was held on the grounds the evening before, all proceeds going to Ronald McDonald House.
Southland A&P Association president Paula Bell said the event had to be one of the association’s best shows since moving from its old showgrounds, and she thanked the association’s members for their hard work.
"We’ve got an amazing dynamic team on board that have worked tirelessly to provide things for people. The agricultural side of the show is very, very strong — the livestock classes and equestrian are incredible ... There’s so much children’s entertainment, and a lot of it doesn’t actually cost families. It’s a great family day."
Television personality and mental health advocate Matt Chisholm headlined the event, Mrs Bell saying he was an excellent addition to have.
"Our shows are only going to get stronger. Our committee work 12 months of the year to build for the next show — basically, it doesn’t stop. We’ll take what ideas from here that went really well and move forward with them."
While the rain made a few people head for cover throughout the day, it did not put a stop to Southlanders heading out to support local, she said.
"All day people were coming. Southlanders love to get out and support what is local, and we celebrated Southland and there was a great response to trade stalls and car sales. It’s the first time we’ve had so many trade stalls, and the craft stalls were of a high quality and standard."
