Record-breaking crowd numbers as rural show brings families together

The annual agricultural show ran at the Noorat Recreation Reserve on Saturday, November 18, 2023.

"I think it's one of the biggest crowds we've seen," Ms Heffernan said.

She said the show had a great reputation for being a good old-fashioned day out for families.

"We've still got all the carnival rides but then we've got all this fantastic livestock, we've got dairy and beef cattle together which you don't normally see," Ms Heffernan said.

She said while bad weather hampered attendance numbers in 2022 after two-years of COVID-19 cancellations, "today just shows what would have happened last year if it hadn't rained".

Ms Heffernan said some of the highlights were the picnic area, the flower displays in the home crafts section and the dog high jump competition.

She said the food area, which had a special guest - Channel 7's Plate of Origin winner and 10 Minute Kitchen co-host Dezi Madafferi - was popular.

"It's been fantastic to extend that food side of things. We had the Nibble and Nosh Food Expo which is always a hit and our trade sites have picked up," Ms Heffernan said.

She said the show had also seen a record number of sheep entries, with almost 100 entered.

The show also brought families together for a fun day out, including Camperdown's Margaret Clissold.

Ms Clissold, and her children and grandchildren, who live in Koroit and Glenormiston, have attended the show together for about 10 years.

"It's a good meeting spot and now that the grandchildren are growing up now it's nice to all come back as a family," she said.