Sydney Royal Easter Show 2009

Ahhh the Easter Show. It brings out the kid in all of us doesn't it?

A celebration of agriculture and livestock, it's one of the few times in which we all earnestly celebrate our ties to the land.

Whilst childhood memories are inevitably tinted with sentimentality, attending as an adult gives you free financial rein to create your own version of an idyllic day out. Deep-fried food included.


Queuing at Lidcombe station

I headed to the Easter Show via public transport, and whilst the crowds at Lidcombe station seemed daunting at first, the queues were managed reasonably efficiently by station staff and regular running trains. It didn't take long to get there at all, even less time to find my Show buddy for the day Chocolatesuze, and mere seconds for her to find her Easter Show buddy, Mr Cheese on a stick.


Chocolatesuze is happy


Cheese on a stick $4.00
Mozzarella cheese encased in deep-fried cakey batter


Mmm.... melty

Like ants at a picnic, we were wordlessly drawn to the Woolworths Fresh Food Dome as our first port of call.


Fruit display


Sour worms, cola bottles and gummi bears


Beeswax pig


Waffles $5.00

If there's one thing that reminds me of school visits to the Easter Show, it's the District Exhibits, the huge displays of fruit and grains that we'd all stop and gawp at with wonder. And unlike a lot of things you revisit in adulthood, the displays are always as big as I'd remembered, huge expanses of creative scenery, meticulously arranged to showcase the best of the region.

The five regions--North, South, South East Queensland, West and Central--battle it out for best display. It's important to note that whilst effective arrangement is one criteria for judging, it is relatively minor compared to the 12 other judging elements, namely dairy produce, foods, wine, preserved fruit, fresh fruit & nuts, vegetables & ginger, cucurbits, grain, stock fodders, commercial fibres, pasture grasses and wool.


Northern District display


Southern District display


South East Queensland District display


Pages made of grain


Giant books covered with grain


Central District Display


The rainbow trout made of apples


Trout close-up


Chortling strawberry


Strawberries and marshmallows dipped in chocolate


Chocolatesuze lives up to her moniker
with a milk chocolate shot $3.00


Admiring the cake display

There are few things more torturous than looking at the cake displays too. All those luscious cakes slowly drying out in the cabinet! As I scrutinise each scone, each lamington and each marble cake, I'm always reminded of the documentary Not All Tea And Scones
which explored the Country Women's Association, the women who enter their cakes into CWA competitions, and the process by which submissions are judged.


Prize-winning cakes


Fruit cakes


Fruit cakes and puddings


Knitted characters


Knitted Charlie Chaplin

And then one of my favourite parts of the Easter Show: the cake decorating displays. The sugarcraft by entrants under 17 years was particularly impressive!


Mice in bed (children's age category)


Farmyard animals (children's age category)


Mice in a pumpkin (children's age category)


Kitchen utensils


Merlin


Shoes and sugar


Homage (haha) to the Simpsons


Pied Piper Ducks


Crown jewels


Thistle and lace


Ship of leprechauns (we liked the mermaid!)


Miniature desserts


Echidna


1956 FJ Holden


Dog (a huge crowd favourite)


Geisha


Bathroom vanity


Wall-E


Chocolate and vanilla flowers


Credit Crunch by Annie Lo
(she of giant sushi fame)

Click here for part two, including pics and video of the Racing and Diving Pigs!

The Sydney Royal Easter Show runs from April 9-22, 2009 at the Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park.

With thanks to Elissa from Tourism NSW for the complimentary entry tickets.

Related Grab Your Fork posts:
Sydney Royal Easter Show 2010: Robosaurus Pics and Video
Sydney Royal Easter Show 2010: The Cakes, Food and Toyota V6 HiLux Heroes

Sydney Royal Easter Show 2009: The Cakes and District Displays
Sydney Royal Easter Show 2009: The Racing and Diving Pigs

Sydney Royal Easter Show 2007: The Animals
Sydney Royal Easter Show 2007: The Cakes
Sydney Royal Easter Show 2007: The Food