PREPARATIONS are underway for the annual Collie show with volunteers working tirelessly to make sure the stage is set for Saturday.
Collie Agricultural Society Treasurer Les Whymark said the committee have been busy making sure everything is in place for the show.
Mr Whymark said the community support is vital to keeping the show going for future generations.
“It’s important to keep agricultural shows going, we are a generation that grew up with this and with the times changing its important that we adapt so they are still around for our children,” he said.
“The core of the show is the agricultural aspect, so that our children grow up knowing where their food comes from.”
“Community support is vital that’s the reason we are here, we are here for the children and for the Collie community.”
“The show is the result of a real community effort, certainly come down for a great day, there is going to be non-stop entertainment.”
Mr Whymark said there is still time for people to enter their handicrafts in to this year’s show.
“Only by getting the entries from the community that we can keep running,” he said.
“The more entries we have the more the prizes will be for the next show.”
“The entries we have received so far are well in excess of last year’s show, and we are expecting even more to come in on Friday.”
“We are expecting to have about 2000 entries, which is up 25 per cent on last year.”
“Next year we encourage people to get their entries in earlier to make life easier.”
Mr Whymark encouraged children to enter their art and crafts in to next year’s show.
“It’s a good platform for the children to showcase their work; after all they are our future so it’s important that we support them,” he said.
“It provides a forum for them to show off their handicrafts.”
“The main theme of the show is to try and get children to have a better understanding of agriculture.”
Mr Whymark thanked the Collie community for their support in the lead up to the show.
“We have a core of supporters including local businesses; we wouldn’t be able to do it without them,” he said.
“The Shire is one of our biggest supporters, I can’t speak highly enough of them, they are great.”
Due to changes over the last three years, Mr Whymark said the show has kept on getting better.
“Last year we doubled gate takings from the previous year, which meant we were able to put extra money in to this year’s show,” he said.
“The show was going backwards and three years ago we decided to make some changes to keep up with the changing times, and it has paid off.”
“The objective is to keep going forward and getting bigger and better, we can’t just stand still.”
The society is still looking for volunteers to help with the set up on Friday and to help pack away on Sunday.
