Sign In / Register
The first Warkworth A&P Show to be staged since the date was moved from the traditional Auckland Anniversary weekend will take place at the showgrounds on Saturday, March 16.
Music will be one of the main attractions this year, with renowned alt-country singer Jamie McDell performing on stage in the main arena, plus sets from rocking local covers band Bad Neighbours, bluegrass trio Otherwise Fine and other local performers.
There’s no cattle section this year, due to Mycoplasma bovis disease, but there will be more than 30 goat classes on the paddock in front of the show office, as well as a display by the Rodney Districts Miniature Horse Club. The standard horse and pony classes were dropped from the A&P schedule this year, as the new show date clashes with the Horse of the Year Show, but the equestrian fields will be filled instead with Young Farmer action.
Elsewhere, the annual Woodchopping Carnival hosted by the Puhoi Axemen will be held as usual, with axes being swung in 12 different categories, and the 2019 sheep shearing competition will have five classes – open, senior, intermediate, junior and veteran – with prizes of up to $250.
There will also be a dog agility display in the main arena and more exhibitors in a larger trade section, which is sponsored this year by John Deere dealership AgrowQuip.
Parents will be pleased to hear that Northland Waste and Masons Contractors are once again sponsoring the children’s play area, meaning that the bouncy castles and water slide will be free of charge, and Greg Clark’s racing sheep will be back to compete in another Grand National Sheeplechase or two.
There will be wacky races for humans, too, with the return of the Silly Bugg#rs Challenge, which was first staged at the A&P’s 150th anniversary show in 2017. The Mahurangi Sports Collective will be pitting teams of all ages against each other in a range of challenges, such as mini-bike races, blanket runs, net crawls, egg and spoon races, nut stacking, slippery sliding and moon hopping.
Warkworth Museum will have its traditional display of old, working agricultural machinery and engines, and Warkworth Library will have a large “waka” van with a children’s colouring competition and a guess the number of lollies in the jar game.
The change in timing has allowed for a new class in the closely contested indoor classes, with gardeners invited to compete for the biggest pumpkin in the field and garden produce section. There are nearly 160 separate indoor categories in this year’s show, including vegetables, flowers, preserves, home brew, cookery, floral art, needlework, knitting and craft, plus a wide range of children’s classes covering everything from art and photography to upcycled bottles and articles made on a 3D printer.
A&P show committee chairman Allan Barber says visitors to this year’s show will include the Minister of Agriculture, Damien O’Connor, and Auckland Mayor Phil Goff.
The 2019 Warkworth A&P Lifestyle Show will run from 9am to 4pm at the Warkworth Showgrounds off State Highway 1 on Saturday, March 16.
Info: Email secretary@warkworthshow.co.nz or Warkworth A&P Lifestyle Show on Facebook.
