A Day at the Royal Easter Show

My older children will be quick to tell you they had a deprived childhood because unlike other families, every Easter they weren’t taken to the Royal Easter Show.

Carnival

Carnival

We did go once or twice but as it is often crowded and as some children like to run away, be difficult, fight with their sister, have different agendas, and argue with their mother over what we will and won’t be doing, I deemed it too challenging and did anything other than go to the Show.

Baby chicks hatching

Baby chicks hatching

And I never took the little guy.  And he mentioned it constantly and reminded me how all his friends go every year and how unfair it is that he’d never been, and how his older brother and sister had been so many times so when would it be his turn?

Feeding the goats

Feeding the goats

This was his lucky year.

Dairy cows

Dairy cows

And to make up for the fact he’d never been, I decided he could go for a day.  A whole day.  As in a 13-hour day, as in, ‘in for a penny, in for a pound’.

One of the delivery milk vans from the good ol' days

One of the delivery milk vans from the good ol’ days

And I even let him take a friend.

Yet another ride

Yet another ride

We decided to go on the last day of the Show which is ‘Children’s Day’ where children can enter for half the price and all rides are two-for-one.

Dodgem cars

Dodgem cars

As Children’s Day is usually very crowded I decided we should leave very early in the morning aiming to arrive before the Show even opened.  Public transport is included in the entry fee so we left the car at home.  We caught a 7am bus to the city then took two trains to the Show, getting us there at 8.30am.

Messy!

Messy!

Although the Show doesn’t open until 9am, you can enter into the Showground so we walked in and headed straight to the rides.  The rides were a main attraction for the boys and we had time to walk around and view them all before they opened for the day.

Not for me!

Not for me!

We bought ride tokens that seemed very expensive even on the two-for-one day and our many, many tokens disappeared very quickly.

Way up high

Way up high

The plan to head to the rides early was excellent.  For the first hour of the Show there were no crowds and so the boys didn’t have to queue for any rides.  They did the Ghost Train, the Dodgem Cars, the Roller Coaster, the Rotor and many, many more spinning around-type rides.  Fearless Alfie even went on one where he was so high up in the air I could barely see him.

Four-horned sheep

Four-horned sheep

After two hours with the rides we left and went to see some of the animals.  We saw four-horned sheep; a very rare breed I had never seen before.

Bearded dragon

Bearded dragon

Then we went into a reptile enclosure where we the boys patted a bearded dragon and a tortoise.

Tortoise

Tortoise

We found out all about growing cotton and were given some cotton seeds to plant in Spring so we can attempt to grow our own.  I’ll let you know how that goes!

Cotton!

Cotton!

Avoiding all those dreadful pluto dogs and potatoes-on-a-stick, we found a cute pizza place where we could sit in the sun and re-stabilise after all those rides.  Unlike the slushies we’d bought somewhere else, the pizza was really well priced.  And it was good, too.

'Great Pizza'

‘Great Pizza’

We walked over to the main arena and sat down to watch the entertainment, Mr Boom blow himself up with explosives and Xtreme Korruption send their motorbikes up into the air.

Pizza time

Pizza time

Drew came to join us and we then went and watched a bird show.  Flying over our heads were gallahs, cockatoos, parrots and owls.  Then we watched a dog show where obedient and well-trained dogs show just how clever they can be.

Waiting for the bird show to start

Waiting for the bird show to start

After the bird and dog shows we looked at the produce displays that this year had an ANZAC theme to honour the men who fought and lost their lives one hundred years ago at Gallipoli.

Remembering the ANZACs

Remembering the ANZACs

Produce displays

Produce displays

I do love to see the cake displays and there was no shortage of talent in this year’s entries.  I think my favourite was the stack of children’s books.

A cake to honour the ANZACs

A cake to honour the ANZACs

A cake to honour the ANZACs

In memory of the horror that was Gallipoli

My favourite cake

My favourite cake

All Australian vegemite and kangaroo

All Australian vegemite and kangaroo

Entrance to Luna Park

Entrance to Luna Park

After seeing all the crafts we walked to the animal nursery.  For a dollar you could buy a cup of feed and hand feed the goats and lambs.  There are over one thousand animals in the farmyard and we spent nearly an hour feeding, patting and photographing the animals.

What a sweetie!

What a sweetie!

My favourite moment was seeing the man who provides all these animals to the Show and I had a talk to him about his dachshund, Bella and mentioned I have two just like her at home.  He said, ‘Wait there’, and went into a back room and brought out an eight-week old dachshund puppy.  She was his Easter present and his daughter bought the sister from the same litter so the two girls will always be together.  The puppy was just gorgeous with the prettiest of faces.

Sheep sheering on a truck

Sheep sheering on a truck

It was now late afternoon and the boys had a few ride coupons they wanted to use up so we headed back to the carnival area.  This is when I was so glad I’d made the decision to rise early and get to the rides before everyone else.  It was now extremely crowded and the queues for rides more than lengthy.  The boys went on a couple more spinning-type rides and then we gladly exited for the Show bag hall.

Getting ready

Getting ready

The downside of going to the Show on the last day is that some of the show bags may be sold out.  Both boys wanted the ghastly sour lolly show bag but alas, there weren’t any left.  Not a problem; there were plenty more to choose from.

Wood chopping

Wood chopping

Night was now falling and I couldn’t believe how long I’d been at the Show as the day had gone by very quickly.  We bought some very ordinary takeaway food for dinner then headed back to the main arena for the evening’s performances.  We again watched Mr Boom and Xtreme Korruption but also saw sheep herding and sheering, a rodeo where cowboys were riding horses and bulls and wood chopping.   There were some singing performances as well and then the evening ended with a terrific fireworks display.

The big finale

The big finale

As we left the showground I realised we had spent quite a bit of money on our day at the Show but if you’re not obsessed with rides and show bags, you could wander around all the exhibits for no charge other than the entry fee.  So much on offer for such a small price.

Getting ready

Getting ready

And for Alfie, the day couldn’t have been better.

Carnival

Carnival

And yes, we’ll be back next year.

Comments

  1. I love nothing better than spending the day at a show! Must get to Sydney one year for this!

  2. Sounds like a great though tiring day was had by all. And now Alfie has had his firs day at the Royal Easter show … what are the odds he’ll want to go back next year? 🙂

  3. Danielle says:

    What a grand day out indeed! No doubt Alfie will remember this day very fondly when he is older. I haven’t been to the Show since I went with my Dad a couple of years before he passed away (back when it was at the old showground) and I told myself I couldn’t possibly spoil that memory by going to the ‘new’ venue…well, your posts on the Show this year have completely convinced me to go next time I can, because it really is too good to miss! Thank you Charlie xx

  4. I’m exhausted just reading how much you fitted into one day. Hell will freeze over though before i go on any of those rides I have no head for heights or speed. I bet the you’ll be taking all three of them next year 🙂

  5. With such smart planning, you removed a lot of the stress from this event. Sounds like a wonderful day and similar to our Minnesota State Fair, which I haven’t attended in decades. Too many people.

    Tell Alfie he’s not alone. Our youngest missed out on a lot of things his older sisters got to do, too. By the time he arrived, we were older and just plain tired.

  6. Love these days in which you do so many things, yay for you, Charlie! 😀

  7. Wow that makes me tired just reading it. Sylvia has had a couple of outings to the show but I don’t think I have the energy to do it every year. Kids really appreciate it if it is only every few years – am sure you have found some interesting things to do between trips to the show! Love the ANZAC produce display

  8. I too use to go every year, but because it was normally just me, no need for rides, just all the free stuff food and a few show bags (you always need to buy a Bertie beetle one) so not that expensive. It sounds like you and the boys had a fantastic day, you must have been exhausted though! Liz xx

  9. I bet the boys had a blast—I would have needed 2 days to recover! You’re a nice mom!!!

  10. I’m glad Alfie did enjoy the Royal Show Charlie!
    I don’t think people have to go every year, but it is the memories made going with family and friends that last a lifetime!

  11. What an incredible day out! I haven’t been to the Fair (what we call it in Canada) in years and you’ve made me miss it. 🙂 That children’s book cake is absolutely amazing.

  12. Not sure I could spend that much time at a show Charlie, kudos to you and like you say, it was well worth the effort for Alfie.
    Have a beautiful week ahead.
    🙂 Mandy xo

  13. I smiled from one paragraph to another thinking about how the young man would be over the moon at all that fun. I’ve had you in my thoughts all day and pray your baby is doing better tonight.

  14. Sounds like a really fun day, the stack of children’s books cake is also my favorite, so creative. In the photos Alfie looks so much like you.

  15. What a day! Alfie must have thought all his birthdays had come at once. It sounds like you enjoyed it too, which I’m glad to hear – it would have been a long 13 hours otherwise. I do think some aspects of the royal shows are terribly overpriced, but as you say, it can be good value if you take in the free things, of which there are many and often with lots of interest to see.

  16. Haha I’m so happy for Alfie! He finally got to go and with a friend, and a whole day!! I can imagine it was one of his best days in his life!!! As a kid, I remember it was fun to go to those places… but as an adult (mom) it’s just additional trouble/pain… I can totally see why you avoided! I hate crowded place and avoid as much as possible too. Hope you had fun with the kids too! 🙂

  17. Oh, I tired just reading about it Charlie – but I do remember at Alfie’s age I loved the show:)

  18. What a dream for a little boy! And how great that he brought a friend–I’ll bet his parents were thrilled you were willing! 🙂 I have never seen a show nearly this comprehensive and I would have loved it! I would have avoided the rides, perhaps, but the animals alone would have been wonderful. And let me give you a little tip now about growing cotton. I did it once and it was easy to grow. But the trick is letting the plants themselves turn brown and look dead! I thought my “crop” had been a big failure, but fortunately, while procrastinating in tidying up the “dead” plants, I looked out my window one day and those same dry stems were covered in the most beautiful puffs of white. I still have my bag full of cotton I grew! Have fun with that, but that’s my tip. 🙂 I smiled the whole time I read this, Charlie. Fun!

  19. Dear Charlie,

    Congrats to Alfie for getting to his first Easter show. I agree it can be an expensive affair and those bumper car rides are awesome, especially “sandwiching” someone between two cars LOL

  20. That’s great that he got to go! I recall going two or three times growing up. Certainly not every year. I remember when it was at Moore Park!

  21. I’m so glad Alfie got to finally go and even share the day with a friend. I’m even more glad that it went so slightly and you were clever enough to time your day so well Charlie 🙂 Our show isn’t all that great so we rarely go, I’d love to go to the Sydney show one day 🙂 xo

  22. Hope you saw some cattle judging.

    Where is the Show Bag photo!!

  23. You are a better mummy than me…although ours is a small town show it is lethally priced and I avoid driving past that area for at least 2 weeks so my little lady doesn’t get a whiff of the show coming to town!! But…..she is in grade 2 at school and I fear it may all be coming to an end….hahaha….your day sounded fantastic btw and I’m sure the boys will remember it for a long time to come 🙂

  24. I was born in Sydney and live there until I was 8 years old … I still have very fond memories of the Royal Easter Show as we used to go every year … so much fun!

  25. I love a good show but I have only ever been to the country variety! I would love to get to the Royal Easter Show one year. My family would love it. It sounds like your day was strategically planned and a lot of fun. Great post!

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