It’s Raining, It’s Pouring…

It’s a pretty gloomy, cold and wet day in Adelaide today. In fact, according to the forecast, it’s going to be like this all week. It’s the kind of weather that makes all of us here in the office moan “Please don’t be like this for the Royal Show!”

Ah yes. The joys of weather and events. Unfortunately, we can plan and plan and be as organised as possible, but the weather is the one thing we can’t control. We get asked so often why we don’t hold the Royal Adelaide Show later in year once winter is well & truly out the way, or even capitalize on the buzz of Adelaide during ‘Mad March’ and increase the chance of having nice warm, sunny days.  The answer always surprises some people – the Royal Adelaide Show is lined up in the calendar of all of the Royal Shows in Australia, therefore making it very hard to change. There are companies such as the Ride & Showbag Operators that travel around the country to all of the different Royal Shows and they are all set out so that there is just enough time between each one to allow for the pack up and set up (and perhaps a tiny break in between!).

So, the Royal Adelaide Show always begins on the first Friday in September and is likely to do so for many years to come! Our challenge of course, is ensuring that there is still enough to do and see inside and undercover in the case of bad weather.  We think we’ve done pretty well with this over the past few years, with all of the animal exhibits inside, the commercial exhibitors set up within the temperature controlled pavilions and undercover eating areas. While of course we always wish for great weather, a wet or cold day at the Royal Adelaide Show can still be a very full and fun day!

The irony of course is that the Royal Adelaide Show is staged by the Royal Agricultural & Horticultural Society of SA Inc, which works to support farmers – who of course are in need of good rainfall! So we’re happy to do them a deal – it can rain as much as they need up until the end of August, if we can have some sunshine for the start of September!

The Show – Off
www.theshow.com.au

A peek inside the pavilions…

We all know that there’s something for everyone at the Royal Adelaide Show. Every year we have over 500 commercial exhibitors involved, displaying a broad range of items including livestock, farm equipment, motor vehicles, food and beverages, pets and pet supplies, technology, furniture, toys, clothing, jewellery, cosmetics, outdoor products and much, much more! 

Many of our exhibitors spend the entire year preparing for the Show. Some have been involved for many years while others are exhibiting for the first time in 2012. With half a million visitors each year, it’s an exciting promotional opportunity for any business. 

We spoke to Carin and Andrew Pole of the Landscaping Ideas & Design Centre to find out how their preparations are coming along. 

“We’re absolutely thrilled to be exhibiting for the first time at the 2012 Royal Adelaide Show and we’ve been preparing for about six months now” says Carin. “Once we stopped jumping up and down with excitement, we started thinking about what we wanted to incorporate in our display. We stock a broad range of products and some of them are exclusive to us, so we wanted to showcase as many of these as possible.” 

Carin believes that the Royal Adelaide Show is the perfect event to showcase the brand new Landscaping Ideas & Design Centre. “The Landscaping Ideas & Design Centre is all about fun, friendly and creative landscaping inspiration. And the Show is all about family fun and friendliness. So it’s a perfect fit” she says. “Andrew and I both have wonderful childhood memories of the Show and we’re pinching ourselves that we have the opportunity to be involved as adults. Bring it on!” 

Another first time exhibitor at the 2012 Show is Cartoon Photobooth in the Kids Corner in Jubilee Pavilion. We had a quick chat with James Baker to see how they’re feeling about the upcoming Show. 

“Being first time Royal Show exhibitors we are as excited as we are nervous about being at the Adelaide Show, however everything is starting to come together. We are launching our brand new Cartoon Photobooth at the show so there are heaps of things to organise. There has been a steady stream of delivery vans dropping things off as we get ready. Our 2.2 metre banners for the wall arrived today.

“As the photobooth if fully licensed we have to test and submit all of the photostrips to Warner Brothers so our kids are having a great time testing the booth and having their photos taken with Superman and Bugs Bunny.

“We can’t wait to start moving in to set everything up. Our family loves the Royal Adelaide Show and we have a lot of happy memories there so I hope we can help provide some for others this year. When the show guide arrives and the weather starts to become nicer you know it’s show time so we are really looking forward to it.” 

The 2012 Royal Adelaide Show is now so close! The grounds are full of people in high-viz vests as everything gets set up and the commercial stands are looking fantastic – make sure you visit these Pavilions to see what is on offer. There really is something for everyone!

The Show-Off
www.theshow.com.au

Food, glorious food!

There is so much to see and do at the Royal Adelaide Show, that sometimes our Show-goers only get to hastily scoff down a bucket of hot chips and a stick of fairy floss while they watch some entertainment on the Main Arena or Coca-Cola Stage. However, there are so many options for food and drinks at the Show – you should definitely take your time to look around at the options and enjoy all there is to offer! 

Our catering team, carefully and lovingly select the food outlets for the Show – they have to sift through applications from hopeful caterers and select the ones that they think will provide the best products and service to you. They also have to make sure they have a good variety – not too many serving pizza and none serving healthy options.  Then they have to place them around the Showground to make sure all areas have some kind of catering close by and they are evenly spread out…what a task! 

So what can you expect to find in the way of food and beverages at the Show?

The Kingsway Gourmet area is always a fantastic option – this is home to gourmet and international cuisines. Here you will fine, sushi, paella, gourmet steak sandwiches and seafood- just to name a few! There is also large area with outdoor entertainment – the perfect way to spend a nice spring evening! 

The Atrium and Hamilton Boulevard areas are home to Show favourites such as dagwood dogs, donuts and ice cream, plus you can find a range of healthier alternatives such as salads, fresh sandwiches and fresh fruit – yum! 

If you prefer something a bit quieter there are some lovely cafes you can sit down and rest your feet for awhile! The CWA Café on Kingsway, Red Dove Café in the Carnival area and Personal Chef in the southern end of the grounds are all great spots to relax and enjoy some home-cooked delights! 

Lastly, don’t forget to check out the Taste SA pavilion – this houses lots of South Australian produce such as chutneys, fudge and olive oils that you can sample and buy to take home. For the Mums & Dads you can also sample some of SA’s best wines here too! 

So when you come along to the Royal Adelaide Show this year, take your time to look around and maybe try something new! Hungry yet?

The Show – Off
www.theshow.com.au

The wonderful world of Showbags!

Showbags! And before you all get too excited, no I don’t have this year’s Showbag Guide yet – we are still waiting for that ourselves! Showbags are probably one of the most enquired about things at the Royal Adelaide Show – around February we start getting asked via Facebook what will be new this year (and I hate to burst your bubble teenage girls, but I wouldn’t be holding your breath for a Reece Mastin bag this year) and it breaks our heart to have to keep telling everyone the same thing- BE PATIENT!

What most people don’t realize is that here at the Royal Show office, we aren’t the ones who decide what bags are sold, which ones stop being produced and what goes in each bag. There are several companies that we refer to as ‘Showbag Operators’ who bring the showbags in and sell them. They are the ones who give us the list of what they will be selling and what is in each one. We still have a bit of work to do however – we need to ensure the Showbag Operators send in a sample of each bag to show consumer affairs (they check there is nothing in there that is dangerous for the kiddies), we put together all of the Showbags into a ‘Showbag Wishlist’ for our website and smartphone app, arrange for Showbag advertisements to go into The Show Magazine and our Showbag guru, designs the floorplan of the Showbag Pavilion. This last one is a tough job as it is one of the busiest places on the Showground so she needs to make sure it complies with all fire and safety rules so that no one gets trampled on their way to getting their Bertie Beetle Bag.

One of the fun things we do get to do is run the Showbag Launch – this is the thing you see on the news with a roomful of excited kids as they get a sneak peek of what’s on offer that year.

We hear so many lovely stories about kids (and a few adults) saving up for their showbags each year – for some it’s cashing in their cans and bottles at the recycling depot, some have a chores chart and they get money for every chore they complete. We even heard of one girl who saved all of her birthday money from November for the Show the following year – that is a long wait to buy yourself a birthday showbag in September!

So, I have said it before and I will say it again – BE PATIENT! That Wishlist will be here before you know it and you can make that trip to the recycling depot to cash in your cans.

The Show – Off
www.theshow.com.au

“Soooo…what do you do the rest of the year?”

There is less than a month left until the 2012 Royal Adelaide Show – things have been slowly ramping up here in the office for  a couple of months now but once we get past that 100 days to go mark, we know that the Show is just around the corner- how exciting!

Entry forms for the competitive sections are flooding in, the entertainment schedule is being booked, floorplans are being drawn up for the pavilions and our Facebook friends are starting to ask what showbags and rides there will be this year. It is certainly a busy time and will only get busier in the lead up to September 7^th, but one of the questions we get asked a lot is “so what do you do for the rest of the year?”.  Good question!

It surprises many people to learn that we have around 50 full time staff who are involved not only in the running of the Royal Adelaide Show, but also the coordination of the Adelaide Showground and the other events that are held here. When it comes to the Royal Show however, there is a good 18 months of planning involved. Committee meetings for the competitive sections are held year round to arrange the different classes, judging timetables, entry processes and booking judges and stewards.  Expression of Interest Forms for commercial exhibitors (they’re the ones you see selling their wares inside the pavilions) start being sent out as early as January to get them all back, booked in and allocated a site and tickets in time for September. We start planning our marketing campaign around February & March – right now, our TV commercials, press and outdoor advertising have just started! We have already run Volunteer Information Sessions back in April and the applications opened back in February. All of this only just scrapes the surface of what goes on behind the scenes in the Royal Adelaide Show office.

That is what this blog is all about – giving you, our loyal show-goers a ‘behind the scenes’ peek into how the Royal Adelaide Show is put together. So stay tuned for my weekly blog – there are lots of things happening here at the office and I hope to give you an insight to the excitement!

The Show- Off
www.theshow.com.au