THE Mount Gambier Agricultural and Horticultural Society is continuing to plan for its 2020 Spring Show despite the recent cancellation of the Royal Adelaide Show.
The Mount Gambier Spring Show is scheduled for October 23 and 24, around seven weeks after the now-cancelled Adelaide event, which was called off as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the Mount Gambier-based show society will continue planning up until the last minute in hopes of delivering a 2020 event.
Show society president Danielle Tulak said committee members remained hopeful the event would go ahead at the showgrounds on the city’s eastern fringe, but conceded planning had not been as formal compared to past years.
“We have not been able to host our annual general meeting yet this year and we are about a month or so behind where we usually would be,” Ms Tulak said.
“Anything is possible at the moment and we are hoping that by October the restrictions will be lifted and we can bring a quality event to the city.”
Despite the Royal Adelaide Show’s cancellation, Ms Tulak said regional shows had more flexibility for last-minute preparations.
“Because the Adelaide show is such a large event which is held over multiple days it would be difficult to cancel it at the last minute,” she said.
As part of their contingency plans, Ms Tulak said committee members were exploring every avenue for regular show competition participants in the event of a cancellation.
“A lot of our sections will be able to function which is good and a lot of competitions will still be able to go ahead with the likes of technology,” she said.
“We are looking into possibly hosting the school agriculture competition via video link where the judges can see the animals online given many of the schools have already prepared their animals for the Adelaide and other shows.
“However, if the show does go ahead this year then it may not be as big as it usually is because we are really trying to manage our spending at the moment in case it does have to be cancelled.”
Expecting to make a firm decision around August, Ms Tulak said a lot was still happening behind the scenes.
