Port Elliot Show is currently ranked approx. 4th largest in SA of 48 agricultural shows, and as you can imagine, it takes a lot of time and effort to prepare for an agricultural show that last year was attended over the two days by just under 11,000 people. We are looking for volunteers to help in all manner of ways, in a multitude of activities. For example; with our All Breeds Dog Show that is held on Saturday, we will have five rings in action throughout the day and need help on the Friday before the show to set up the rings, small marquees, tables and chairs etc. During the dog show itself we need people to assist in the smooth running of the show.
After the show on the Saturday afternoon the whole set-up has to be dismantled and the rings prepared for the horses in action held on Sunday. This includes roping off areas, setting up the jumps for our wonderful Show Jumping, the Show Horse events, which like the show jumping are qualification events for the Royal Adelaide, and the Novice Sections. As well we will be looking for many hands to assist on the Sunday with the horses, stewarding, being on the field helping to re-erect jumps if knocked down etc. After the horse show finishes on the Sunday afternoon, again dismantling of all equipment takes place with everything being packed away.
Of major importance, albeit sounding very drab, we are looking for people who would be willing to direct traffic on and around the show grounds. Even though we have our gate people in attendance, we have found for example, if a dog/horse float lines up at the incorrect gate to enter the grounds, by the time it reaches the gate itself, because of the amount of traffic in the area, the vehicle cannot reverse out of the line and go to the correct gate. This impacts very negatively on the traffic flow within the show grounds with these vehicles impeding the general flow of traffic and indeed in some instances causing hold-ups that take some time to clear. If we had a couple of people working with the gate people who could direct vehicles to the correct gates while they are lined up prior to them actually reaching the entry gates, the smooth flow of traffic on the grounds would be increased dramatically. This activity happens mainly first thing of a morning.
There are many other ways in which volunteers are needed so if you are interested, please keep an eye on this website as we will be posting more specific details about help we require in the next couple of months. If you are already interested please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Gayle – Secretary / M: 0419 494 275 or E: secretary@portelliotshow.com.au
