Craft, animals, rides and showbags as 135th Hawkesbury Show begins

The members of Kurrajong Handspun Crafts were out bright and early in the brand new Hawkesbury Pavilion, pumping spinning wheels in unison.

One of the only male members of the group, Tony Meskauskas, said he became involved in the craft through his work and family.

"I came to weaving and spinning through my work in graphic design and all my grannies were knitters and spinners in the Ukraine," he said.

Member Coleen Kilgour picked up the craft again after a 42-year break and said it was important to note that the craft was "zero emissions".

"We don't run on machinery - it's all pedal power and hand power," Ms Kilgour said.

A group of 10 students from Colo High School were among numerous Hawkesbury schools participating in the show.

Agriculture teacher Danielle Alexander said the students were preparing three cattle for showing on the Friday, and they would be showing sheep on Sunday. When the Gazette visited, the students were blow-drying a cow, getting it ready for showtime.

"The students will show the cattle, and perform sheep handling and parading, and they also have poultry in the Poultry Shed," Ms Alexander said.

Over in the Taste The Hawkesbury pavilion, local providores and producers were showing their wares, and providing taste-tests.

Bilpin Cider venue supervisor Rachel Holbert said: "We are offering five non-alcoholic ciders: apple, apple and raspberry, apple and lemon, apple and ginger, and apple and blood orange."

Eclipse Organics co-owner, Brett Monaghan, said: "It's all about letting people know we're here. We've been in the Hawkesbury for 12 years, trying to bring healthy food to normal people. We have three ranges we're focusing on: spice blends and curry mixes, mueslis, and healthy snacks."

The Hawkesbury Amateur Beekeepers Association was selling different honey varieties including clear, creamed and honeycomb, and honey-related goods including beeswax, wax wraps and wax blocks for candle-making.

Canoelands Orchard was showcasing its honey, jam and chutney, and the Royal Richmond Hotel was showing its own brand of preserves, made in their kitchen.

Kurrajong Kitchen - which celebrates 30 years next year - was showcasing its Lavosh, and Hawkesbury Harvest was on-site to support local producers. Other exhibitors included Karu Distillery and Hawkesbury Hampers.

Former television presenter Don Burke was in the Apex Pavilion representing The Australian Heritage Budgerigar Association. He said, according to folks overseas, this country has "the best of the heritage budgies in the world".

In the main pavilion, there were cooking, crafts, fruits, vegetables and photography galore. Steward for Junior Cooking, Debbie Johns, said this year, entries had doubled.

"We've got a whole lot of little ones entering this year, which is good, because once they get involved they continue through year after year," Ms Johns said.

Over in the sideshows and showbags area, there were plenty of Hawkesbury families in attendance and also groups from out of the area.

Jess, from North Strathfield, had been coming since she was a child growing up in Winmalee, and now she brings her own children.

Over in the show foods section, Harley (7) and Lailah (4) from Richmond were enjoying Chips on a Stick, and they were looking forward to visiting the animals and going on the rides.

Show bag vendor Corey from Showbags 4 Kids said he thought the Bertie Beetle and Fantasy Princess show bags would be popular this year. Leonie Walker from Showbag Warehouse said Mini Mouse and Mermaid show bags were selling well.

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Back in the arts and crafts pavilion, Steward Don Webster from Bilpin was celebrating his 1^st Prize-winning tapestry, a recreation of the Thomas Gainsborough painting Blue Boy. Mr Webster passed the needle through the tapestry 206,720 times with 51,680 crosses, and used 3940.6 metres or 492 skeins of cotton to put together his masterpiece.

Lynette Hudson, President of the HDAA, said: "The imagination of the kids and people who do the artwork is unbelievable. When you look back at the workmanship, you think, 'wow'."

Mrs Hudson was "very happy with the turnout".

"People have been saying, 'look at the size of these tomatoes and cabbages'. Everything's unbelievable," Mrs Hudson said.

"We have a great pumpkin display and we didn't even know if we'd get any pumpkins this year."