Families from near and far made their way to Gin Gin for the Showmans Guild Fun Fair on Saturday to enjoy the relaxed atmosphere.
This year’s attractions may have been small in comparison to the annual Gin Gin Show, which was cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions, but what it lacked in size was made up with family fun and entertainment.
Tucking into a Dagwood Dog Sarah and Todd Herring, from Wallaville, said it was a chance to get out of the house and spend time as a family while showing support for the show.
“We’ve come to have a bit of fun, in a relaxed environment, and enjoy the beautiful day out together,” Sarah said.
“We like coming out to support our little town.”
Local mother Rebbecca Murdoch echoed the sentiment, saying she hadn’t been to many shows previously, but they were all excited to take in the atmosphere, and enjoy the day.
“It’s a great little show, we are having a ball,” she said.
“This is the first time I have been to a show in a couple of years, and boy, we are quite happy.”
Showmans Guild Fun Fair organiser Luke Chambers said the rides, entertainment and show stalls had quickly packed up after this year’s Bundaberg Show and made a beeline, overnight, to Gin Gin.
“We are more than happy to fill the gap after Gin Gin Show wasn’t able to run,” Luke said.
“For the last 100 years the Showmans Guild has been doing the Gin Gin Show and we didn’t want to miss the chance to bring a little bit of entertainment to the town.
“So, we put the cheap gate on for $2, then tonight we will have the brilliant fireworks, and because it’s not the full show with events such as the horses we can put the cheaper gate on.”
Luke said as fifth and sixth generation show people, they thought it was important little communities, like Gin Gin didn’t miss out on the annual event.
Travelling from Bundaberg, the Richards family made the choice to attend the smaller-scaled show to allow for their large group to have more bang for their buck.
“There’s seven of us, so with the cheap $2 entry it was an easy choice to make to come out here,” Luke said.
“It’s definitely better for us, and we’ve really enjoyed the day so far.”
Showbag Warehouse’s Kelly McBride said it was always a highlight on the Show calendar to pass through smaller communities along the East Coast of Australia.
Kelly said the local community groups that take part in each of the shows were just as important to the show as the larger attractions.
“I travel the up and down the east coast of Australia with the Show, and because we’ve had a lot of disruption over the last year with COVID, one thing I really miss are the community stalls,” she said.
“These little stalls, whether it’s the scones and jam from the CWA ladies, or the egg and bacon rolls from the local scouts, I guess you can say they are a part of the backbone to the shows, and I hope they make a return next year.”
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