The Bendigo Show is back, bigger and better than ever!

WITH three years of absence to make up for, members of the Bendigo Agricultural Show Society are gearing up for a show like no other.

Executive officer for the society, Ian Furze, said this year’s Bendigo Show would feature lots of new attractions and some of the best rides in the country.

“We’ve got some of the crowd favourites,” he said, “We’ve got the monster trucks and we’ve also got the wheel of death and that’s going to be very exciting to watch.”

But the show is not all about thrills and rides, with other attractions aimed at educating the community and bringing the farm into town.

“I think the critical part of an agricultural show is keeping everyone connected to the agricultural community and what significance it actually plays in everybody’s everyday lives,” he said.

Another first for the Bendigo Show in 2023 will be the young farmers challenge that will see teams of people between the ages of 18 to 35 competing in farm activities.

“That’s part of a national competition, so the finalists from the shows go to the state finals,” Mr Furze said.

Also new for this year is a kids zone full of mazes and face painting, while an animal farm has also been added to the show.

The kid’s pavilion was created after a grant from the State Government was given to the Bendigo Agricultural Show Society in 2022 to provide free entry to children.

“Because we got cancelled last year, the Government has allowed us to carry that funding over to this year, so it’s free entry to children 16 and under,” Mr Furze said.

Last year the show was cancelled as the Prince of Wales Showgrounds became a relief centre following the October floods at Rochester and Echuca.

Prior to 2022, the show was cancelled two years in a row due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re expecting that this year is going to be full steam ahead, no interruptions, no last-minute problems,” Mr Furze said.

“And we’ll be able to actually run a show for the first time 1462 days.”

The Bendigo Agricultural Show will run over the weekend of the Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 October at the Prince of Wales Showgrounds.