Nelson A&P Show: Increased Entries
It’s the largest single event in the top of the South Island and it’s as popular as ever. Entries are up in several sections for the 118th annual Nelson A&P Show being held at Richmond Park next weekend.
A&P Show Marketing
and Operations Manager, Liz Harvey says there are nearly
1200 entries in the equestrian section, which is an increase
of around ten percent on last year.
She puts this down to
the hard work of the new management team and some attractive
prizes they have on offer. “We got sponsorship for the
material to make some horse rugs, and one of the committee
members donated her time to make eight of them,” Liz says.
Alpaca entries are up too, especially the number of
fleece entries, with many coming from the North Island. Liz
says it’s easier to ship a fleece than an animal, and
displaying fibre highlights the quality of animals. Keenan
Scott from Waiheke Island is guest judge at this year’s
show, with Molly Gardener from Akaroa judging the fleece.
Getting a free ticket to the show has been a successful incentive for primary school children to enter the non-animal sections. The number of local exhibitors is also up this year with many taking stalls for the first time. Liz says as well as the usual carnival sideshows, the Cobb and Co wagon will be giving rides, and there are performances by the Kiwi Lumberjacks, local bluegrass band The Foxhill Stragglers and Smokefreerockquest regional winner Johnnie Cameron.
Life membership
awarded
Nelson Pine Industries GoldenEdge has been the
major sponsor of the Nelson A&P Show since 1992 and in a
special event prior to the show’s opening, Managing
Director, Murray Sturgeon and two other long term show
supporters, Fergus O’Connor and Richard Martin, will
receive life membership to the A&P Association.
The show opens at 9am on Saturday 21 November and closes with the Grand Parade at 5pm on Sunday. Tickets are available from the Richmond Mall and Haven Realty - Nelson and Richmond.
ENDS