Highlights From The 79th Annual Wee Waa Agricultural Show
Photos by Daniel Boud.
Every year, the rural NSW cotton capital of Wee Waa comes together for the Wee Waa Agricultural Show: a three-day celebration of the small town’s produce and community.
In its 79th year, the Wee Waa Show has now established itself as a huge event and a highlight of the local calendar. Throughout the Wee Waa Showground are pavilions filled with animal shows, flower arranging, woodchopping competitions, and a talent show ( it is called ‘Wee Waa Has Talent’). There’s also stunt-riding, a demolition derby, a grand parade, a clown troupe (‘Ship O’ Fools’) — and huge fireworks shows on both Friday and Saturday nights.
With thousands in attendence each year, 2013 brought with it a list of banned items to ensure the safety of all visitors, as specified in the 48-page Wee Waa show guide.
But just because you can’t bring your pressure pack fart gas doesn’t mean you won’t have fun.
Here are some of the highlights from this year’s show, which was held from Friday May 17 to Sunday May 19, and photographed for us by Daniel Boud.
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THE PET SHOW:
This is his Randy, and his two-year-old human Bill. Randy was the winner of category 10: ‘Large Dog’. Bill was the winner of tousled hair, and probably some kind of sausage roll.
Category 7 was simply called ‘Kitten’, which explains what tiny Max was doing at the show. If his eyes were still closed, it would have been an immediate disqualification — just one of the many strict conditions of entrance in the Wee Waa Show competitions.
Here’s a guinea pig. We are unsure what category he/she was competing in. Maybe Category 4: ‘Miscellaneous Pet (Rabbit etc.)’, or Category 15: ‘Most knowledge about your pet’. Or ‘Toy dog’?
Here’s Jack with his pet chicken, ‘Gorgeous’, who does not suffer from nominative determinism in any way at all:
And who’s this? Why it’s young Josie, holding her pet turtle Crinkles — the winner of Category 2: ‘Smallest Pet’. If Crinkles was playing the game correctly, he would have tucked in that ridiculous neck during judging.
Unfortunately we have no photos from the ‘Decorated Dog’, ‘Insect, Fly or Ant’ or ‘Pet that enjoys water’ categories, although Crinkles would have been a shoe-in for that last one, too.
DOG HIGH JUMP:
The dog high jump is one of the more tense competitions of the Wee Waa Show, as evinced by the crowds of hushed observers who watched the race whittle down to a battle between two champions: Party and Timmy.
This is Party. Smaller than Timmy, he had the advantage of being owned by the event MC, whose baby daughter would squeal each time it was his turn to jump.
But Timmy won the day with an effortless jump of over two metres, setting a new show record and winning the title for the second time in two years.
Notice how he tucks both legs up under him: a sign of well-practiced technique.
Maybe this other dog is doing a hand stand?
FLOWER ARRANGING COMPETITION:
Venture into the Jill Ludowici Pavillion and you would find the Fruit & Veg, Horticulture, Lego & Duplo competitions.
The Flower Arranging competition has categories like ‘Warm glow of copper’, ‘Modern Arrangement’, ‘Flowerless beauty’ and ‘Mantlepiece Arrangement’. Here are just some of the many beautiful entrants.
These next offerings came under the umbrella of ‘Exhibitors Own Theme’. This year, in a particularly hysterical coincidence, the theme chosen by many exhibitors involved an obscure French electro-pop duo.
ANIMAL OR FIGURE MADE FROM FRUIT OR VEGETABLE COMPETITION:
The fan-favourite horticulture competition has to be the aptly-titled ‘Animal or figure made from fruit or vegetable’. The 2013 title was won by Josie Galagher, whose cauliflower-based, carrot-legged, turnip-nosed and sultana-on-radish-eyed snuffleupagus won her the first prize of $3, and a packet of seeds.
(The steward of the Fruit & Vegetables section, Alana, shares the same last name as Jose, which stirred up a small but unfounded controversy.)
Despite enjoying a similar structural integrity to Jose Galagher’s champion entry, this sheep did not even win a title.
FARM ANIMALS:
Many farm animals were on parade at the Wee Waa show.
This, for instance, is some kind of hairy bull. He looks both sad and ashamed, so he probably didn’t win anything at all.
Here is a pair of alpacas. (It is possible they are llamas.)
A majestic-looking cow. Notice how short her rear legs look. A trick of photography, or of breeding? There is no way of finding out.
And will you just look at this goat.
RIDES AND GAMES:
There’s a carnival area at the Wee Waa Showground, which holds around 15 fair rides and a heap of different games, including Shoot The Ducks, Throw A Ball At A Bottle, and Put Some Balls In A Clown’s Mouth.
This ride is called Midnight Madness, but as shown here it can be ridden at pretty much any time of day.
What ever is happening in this next photo looks like the most fun that has ever happened in any photo, ever.
The showbags are not nearly as overpriced as they are in Sydney.
Here’s locals Dave and Charlene. Dave is holding a giant Rastafari banana.
FIREWORKS:
Each night of the Wee Waa Show traditionally closes with a huge fireworks display.
This year, the fireworks were put together by Father Anthony Koppman, a priest from Guyra NSW who moonlights as the manager of a small pyrotechnic company called Holy Smoke. There is nothing not good about that sentence; you can read more about Father Koppman here.
The fireworks are quite loud, so locals take pains to protect the ears of their children. Sometimes the children are happy about this.
Sometimes they are NOT.
All in all, another great year at the Wee Waa Agricultural Show, which was marked by nothing particularly special or different and enjoyed by all.
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All photos © Daniel Boud, 2013