This weekend, starting on Friday, 12^th June and finishing up on Sunday 14^th, the annual Sunshine Coast Agricultural Show will be opening its gates once again. This year though, is a special occasion, with a very special event taking centre stage – the 2015 Sunshine Coast Agricultural Show coincides with the Anzac Centenary. To commemorate this momentous occasion, a new dramatic and musical work ‘Anzac Dawn’ has been specially written for the Show. It is the main evening arena event, supported by the Queensland Government Anzac Centenary Fund, and is attracting national and international interest. The production tells the story of Gallipoli from the point of view of the soldiers, the Generals and their families back at home and is acted and sung by over 200 community volunteers from across the Coast. It has been written by David Crewe from the hinterland of Maleny and Paul Coppens from Buderim. The show welcomes you to come along and remember our history and honour our fallen soldiers in the pursuit of peace. As well as this very special performance, all the usual attractions and competitions, from the Showgirl event to Wood Chopping, will be returning to keep you and the whole family thoroughly entertained throughout the weekend.

The Sunshine Coast Agricultural Show is a prestigious three-day event that showcases the extraordinary diversity of the Sunshine Coast. It keeps our history alive, unites town and country, and promotes our iconic agricultural industries. It’s an opportunity for locals to share their talents, skills and achievements, with the expansive range of competitions highlighting the best in our region. The Show also provides businesses and community groups with a valuable platform to further promote their brand and gather support. We provide a varied range of entertainment daily in the Main Ring with Horse events, V8 Utes, Fireworks, Side Show Alley and roving performances on the Heritage Stage.

The agricultural show is famous for its car events and various competitions, all of which are open to the public to either observe or participate in. One of the biggest attractions of the show is the talent competitions. ‘The Miss Showgirl/Princess/Teen competition seeks young Sunshine Coast locals to represent the Sunshine Coast Agricultural Show for 12 months. The role encourages and promotes the Agricultural Show Movement to the youth of Queensland. Entrants are selected for their knowledge, presentation, passion for the Agricultural Show movement and their community. The competition is no beauty contest, nor is it an intelligence test. It is an award presented to young Sunshine Coast locals who raise the profile of our Show. The award provides an opportunity to excel in leadership, community involvement, key management and confidence. The Show Princess category is open for entrants up to 16 years of age and Show Teen for both genders is open to all entrants aged between 9-13 years.

The Rural Ambassador Awards are open to all genders, twenty to thirty years of age who have a strong commitment to the rural industries and an involvement and passion for the Agricultural Show movement. The aim of the Rural Ambassador Awards is to highlight the importance of young people in rural and regional Queensland, in particular those associated with the Agricultural Show movement. The award identifies those people actively involved in their local Show, who have a sound knowledge of current rural issues affecting their local areas, Queensland and Australia and have a strong affiliation with agriculture. The award seeks young people who symbolise the rural spirit – people with vitality, are forward thinking and with a passion for the land and local agricultural shows.

The Show Girls competition is run on four levels, our local Show winner progresses to a Sub-Chamber final where the winner competes in the State Final held during the Royal Queensland Show (EKKA). The winner of the State Final then competes at the National Final held at a State Royal Show. This is a national competition, but with New Zealand joining us in 2008 it has expanded to international status.’

The show also provides local businesses and community groups with a valuable platform to further promote their brand and gather support through offering numerous trade sites and stalls. Each year it draws a variety of traders, some promoting products and concepts, and others selling items such as clothing, accessories, food and drinks. This year there has been a massive shift in focus. Local farmers are offered a number of free stalls to showcase their produce at the show. It’s a great initiative that will hopefully do wonders for our struggling farmers. For more information on the show visit the Sunshine Coast Agricultural Show event page.