10 November 2011

Showday – celebrated in Canterbury since the 1950s

It is as Canterbury as red and black, Canterbury Anniversary Day or Showday as it is known throughout the region is people’s day at the Canterbury A&P Show.

The official holiday for the anniversary day of the province was shifted from 16 December (the date of the arrival of the First Four Ships) to the Friday of the Show back in the 1950’s. The change meant a holiday for banks and businesses giving people from both town and country the opportunity to attend the Canterbury A&P Show.

The Show has since grown to New Zealand’s largest Agricultural and Pastoral Show, with over 60,000 people expected to attend Showday tomorrow.

Judging Highlights
9.00am NZ Young Beef Breeders Youth Show (National Bank Cattle Lawn)
12.00pm Stihl Teams Race New South Wales vs South Island (Woodchopping Arena)
12.30pm New Zealand vs Australia Veterans Team Race (Woodchopping Arena)
2.00pm New Zealand vs Australia Blade Shearing Test (Shearing Pavilion)
2.30pm New Zealand vs Australia Machine Shearing Test (Shearing Pavilion)
3.50pm Supreme Champion Animal of Show (StableMate Arena)

Entertainment Highlights
11.11am Wedding On Show (Village Green)
1.00pm Comedian Heath Franklin and alter ego ‘Chopper’ also 3pm and 5pm (Tui BaaBaa Bar)
2.00pm Edifice Homes Auction on site for charity
2.30pm The Amazing Quake Race – in association with Air New Zealand (StableMate Arena)
3.10pm Shetland Grand National (StableMate Arena)
3.30pm Ballantynes Grand Parade (StableMate Arena)

Supreme Champion Animal of Show
The Award is the culmination of three days of judging with the best of the best Supreme Champion entrants from horse, sheep, cattle, alpaca, llama, donkey/mule and goat battling it out for the top title. The 2010 Supreme Champion Animal of Show was awarded to Tahora Goldwyn Toni-Et (Dairy Cow) from Tahora Farms.

Wedding On Show
Christchurch couple Jemma and Adam will be getting hitched at the Show on Showday. In conjunction with MORE FM Canterbury, Show organisers are giving away a wedding prize package valued at $26,000.

Edifice Homes Auction on site for charity
Edifice Homes will be auctioning off a ‘pod’ that they have been building on site for the past week. The auction will take place on their site (O 11A) at the Canterbury A&P Show, with all profits from the auction going to Men’s Health. Edifice Homes build quality modular home building systems.

The Amazing Quake Race – in association with Air New Zealand
Four teams of four will take part in a traditional wheelbarrow race with a difference on the Friday of the Show. The race will involve earthquake related obstacles and activities in a celebration of the city’s resilience. The winning team will receive a Tui prize pack and $2000 to donate to the charity of their choice courtesy of Air New Zealand. “Canterbury Agricultural Park was the base for the Farmy Army and Student Volunteer Army earlier in the year. As a result we have a number of wheelbarrows stored on site. The idea for the race came about when we were deciding what we could do with the wheelbarrows while bringing something light-hearted to the people of Christchurch” commented Show Event Director Rae Finlay.

Shetland Grand National
A highlight of the racing calendar, this long standing event sees eleven ponies and jockeys taking to the field, steeplechase style. The event has built a strong following in Canterbury and has grown to be one of the main attractions at the Show.

Ballantynes Grand Parade
The Ballantynes Grand Parade is a showcase of the best of the best with prize winners across most livestock and equestrian sections parading their ribbons in the StableMate Arena, led by the Caledonian Pipe Band.

The 2011 Canterbury A&P Show is held Wednesday 9 to Friday 11 November at Canterbury Agricultural Park in Christchurch. It is the largest A&P Show in the country attracting over 100,000 people, close to 7000 livestock and feature competition entries and 600 trade exhibitors.

ENDS

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