COVID will not take away the Gloucester Show if the Gloucester AH&P committee has anything to do with it.
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With the recent COVID-19 cancellations of the Wingham and Nabiac Shows, Gloucester organisers are determined to proceed with the show, to be held on Friday March 19 and Saturday March 20. According to Gloucester AH&P president Greg Channon, the committee has voted to give the 2021 show the green light.
"The Gloucester Show is a major annual event for the people of our area and we believe that the community would like to have a show if at all possible," Greg said. "Of course we have to ensure that we operate within a COVID-safe environment and are compliant with all public health regulations as of the day of the event. We have to be COVID safe to protect our workers, our volunteers, and the general public."
As has been the way of life in the past 10 months, the constantly shifting goal posts of government regulations around COVID is something the committee will need to keep abreast of. However, at this stage, there will be a somewhat-normal show.
Last year's Gloucester Show was one of many events to be forced to cancel in wake of federal government COVID-19 restrictions introduced in March 2020, with the announcement coming only a fortnight before the show.
As of January 10, under the NSW public health order, a major recreation facility such as a showground is permitted a maximum number of people with one person per two square metres of space (indoors and outdoors) and outdoor fixed seating allowed to hold 100 per cent of capacity.
According to the committee, based on size the showground could hold crowds of more than 35,000, a much great number than previous shows have seen with the range averaging between 2000 to 3000 people.
But the rules mean an approved COVID safety plan is required, which will entail the recruitment of a lot more volunteers to help manage the social distancing and crowd control requirements.
"The show urgently needs volunteers to help out, particularly in relation to the many COVID-19 requirements which are additional to our normal workloads," Greg explained.
If you can spare an hour or two on either day of the show to help at the entry points, supervise at the pavilions, supervision the cows or help out in the dining room, at the barbecue, or in the bar, contact committee secretary Lorraine Forbes on 0427 274 490.