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Mahurangi College kapa haka will be back this year.
Competitive shearing always draws a crowd.
Kids will get a free ride in the tea cups.
Family fun and interaction is the name of the game at this year’s Warkworth A&P Show, which takes place at the showgrounds on Saturday, March 21.
Highlights include free kids’ rides and entertainment, a new fun look at where food comes from and a chance to try horse agility, as well as old A&P favourites such as woodchopping, sheep shearing and all-day live music.
This will be the second show since the date was switched from its former Auckland Anniversary Weekend slot to a Saturday in March, and organisers are happy that they’ve made the right move.
A&P Show secretary Penny Webster says things went much more smoothly without the headache of holiday traffic in 2019.
“Last year was first on a new date and it was so much more of a fun day, because there were no problems with traffic, it was easy to get to and that’s what we were trying to do,” she says. “Numbers were good, even though there were other things going on.”
She says parents will appreciate that the Fun Zone is back, with free rides all day for children, thanks to sponsorship by Northland Waste and Masons.
“Usually, you go to a show and you’re forever handing out $5 bills to the kids all the time. Here, they can stay on all day if they want to,” she says.
Fun Zone attractions will include the caterpillar, a merry-go-round, tea cups, jousting and a giant slide.
Animal fans can check out the goat classes, petting zoo, dog agility display, miniature horses, rabbits, pony rides and a new horse agility clinic. There may also be a few show cattle, though current drought conditions may limit entries.
The main entertainment stage will feature local bands Raw Jam, Bad Neighbours and bluegrass trio Otherwise Fine, plus kapa haka and Pasifika performances by Mahurangi College students, as well as Sue and Bruce’s Family Feast, a fun show about where food comes from (see separate story). The Warkworth and Wellsford Pipe Band will also be playing.
The rural skills of competitive woodchopping and sheep shearing will again be on view, and the always popular indoor marquee will feature nearly 160 classes of fruit, vegetables, flowers, preserves, baking, needlework and crafts. With the summer holidays over, Penny Webster has been dropping off schedules at schools and hopes that more students will enter some of the 51 classes in the Kids’ Corner section.
There will also be a strong trade and commercial presence, and plenty of food and drink, from pies and bacon butties to ice cream, milkshakes and coffee.
The show starts at 9am and tickets cost $15 per adult, or $30 per family with up to four children.
Info: warkworthshow.co.nz
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