Show weaves its magic on all

Whether it was animals, machinery, or adrenaline-fuelled rides the Albany Agricultural Show had something for every member of the family.

Thousands flocked to the showgrounds for the 124th annual festival on Friday and Saturday.

The new Foodie Friday with a Side of Fireworks event went down a treat, with many staying late for the night-time celebrations.

Agricultural Society president Rob Wright said while an official attendance number had not been calculated, an estimated 17,500 people came through the gates.

“It went really, really well,” Mr Wright said.

“Our layout is coming together really well, the weather was good to us and things like the Dizzy Dinosaur attraction and the big food court were good.

“A lot of people took the time to sit there, listen to the music and eat.

“It is such a huge job. On Saturday night we had a whiteboard up already with all these tiny things that we want to improve for next year and it hadn’t even finished.”

Proud breeders of alpacas, sheep, cattle and poultry all had their time in the spotlight.

Albany chicken breeder Stan Bell had 22 birds at the show, but he said he was particularly proud of his magnificent Orpington rooster.

“From the pen to the show it takes me a couple of hours to get the birds ready,” he said.

“You bring them in, wash them, prune them and then dry them. You have to wash the whole bird.”

One of the show highlights was watching wool shorn from a sheep on Friday morning, being transformed into a piece of clothing on the same weekend.

Albany Spinners president Leeza Mclean said the Ewe 2 You challenge was a hit last year, so they knew that they had to run it again.

“We are promoting an age-old craft,” he said.

“At 9:30am the sheep was shorn, then we go through the processes of carting, spinning, plying and then knitting it.

“We are showing what we can dye and what what we can create.

“Last year we actually gained five new members just from doing this demo at the show.”