Soaring temperatures put dampener on A&P show

Perfect weather may have been a double-edged sword at this year’s Warkworth A&P Lifestyle Show, on Saturday January 23, as thousands headed to Mahurangi, clogging the roads.Show committee president Mark Macky says it was a fantastic event, but numbers were down a little as many people got stuck in traffic.

“We had volunteers who were nearly an hour late because it took them 45 minutes to drive from Snells Beach. A lot of people called to say they couldn’t make it because of traffic.”

Cars were backed up for kilometres around Warkworth and Matakana, and a motorbike accident near Perry Road at 12.20pm closed State Highway One.

Committee secretary Marjorie Blythen says the show had a boost in livestock and equestrian entries, and the woodchopping event filled up weeks in advance.

The committee is now looking ahead to the show’s 150th anniversary next year.

“We are planning to do something special for it,” Mrs Blythen says.

The committee will reconvene this month to take stock of the show and start planning next year’s event.