Young Talent Blows Away Big Top
There are some great young Aussie acts making their way into the industry at the moment and the Youth Stage at this year’s Show displayed some of the best. Remember these names because they’re sure to be big in the future!

Some of the acts to appear on the Youth Stage included the Indigenous Hip-Hop Project, Angela’s Dish, The Hampdens, Freestyle Trials, ZimboyZ and The Tom Tom Club, each bringing their own brand of entertainment to a crowd of excited spectators.

“It’s awesome,” said Jules Hewitt, keyboardist for The Hampdens, before playing at Youth Stage on 24 March. “It’s a great opportunity to play for young people.”

The Hampdens performed to a delighted crowd, with a style that Jules
described as laid back electro-pop.

The Indigenous Hip Hop Project showcased an amazing variety of dance
moves and vocal ability, leaving everyonel in the audience with an urge to
get up on their feet and join in. Featuring special guests such as Khaly
Ngeth from So You Think You Can Dance, Australia, giving 110 per cent
every time, this was one performance that kept crowds wanting more. “It
was really great fun,” said one of the dancers, as he left the stage. “It was
great to have Khaly with us too.”

Angela’s Dish hail from the Central Coast of NSW and this up-and-coming
band certainly proved they’re here to stay, while ZimboyZ and The Tom Tom
Club kept audiences on their edge of their seats with their incredible mix of
acrobatics and music.

Other acts to get involved included the boys from the Freestyle Trials, taking
precision riding to the next level as well as a range of music groups including
The Vasco Era, Benjalu and General Managers.

The Youth Stage certainly came alive this year, showing that there is definitely
no shortage of talent where young Aussies are concerned!   

Colourful fun
There were big smiles all around at the Children’s Painting in the Arts Pavilion
on Monday 24 March.

This activity is held every day from 9:30am and is very popular, with lots of happy
children creating artworks. Their work will be entered into a Competition that is
Judged at the conclusion of the Show, with the winning artist awarded $100
worth of paints for themselves and $200 worth of paints for their school.

“I think it’s a great idea, the kids love it,” said Tanya Bezzina, one of the many
parents supervising their budding young artists. Her young son, Adam,
announced with a big smile, “I am painting a rainbow.”

Surprisingly, most of the children, and their clothes, remained relatively
paint-free. “I am trying to be careful,” Adam promised.

Pamela Hilton, who runs the activity, said “we do not direct the children in
any way, they are free to paint whatever they want and just have fun.”

Ann Orr, who runs the Matisse Derivan Stall where the painting is held,
said the best thing was seeing the kids enjoying themselves. “Some kids take
five seconds to do their paintings, other take an hour.”

Rose Exhibits and Winners
The Judging of the NSW Rose Championships are held in conjunction with
the Show and were held on March 22.

Ted and Meryl Morphett from Emu Plains won the three main categories,
including The NSW Autumn Rose Championship, NSW Miniature Rose
Championship and the NSW Champion Rose Unit for their beautiful ‘Blueberry Hill’ arrangement.

Mr. Graham Wright, President of the Rose Society of NSW said, “Growers had difficult conditions to contend with, the drought and a very wet February.
Overall we were very pleased with the standard.”

A doctor a day…
The popular TV vet Dr Harry Cooper has made several appearances at
this year’s Sydney Royal Easter Show.

'Doctor Harry,’ as he’s affectionately known, gives everyone in the
audience a chance to interact by asking lots of questions and even calling
on young volunteers to try out some of his training techniques on the
canines.

A top tip from the doctor is to hold your hand in a fist if a dog goes to bite it.
This makes it harder for the dog to get its jaws around your fingers and
keeps owners bite-free!

Audience members were willing to help out Doctor Harry when he needed it,
even holding up their young children as examples of what he called ‘aliens’.
He explained that dogs perceive small children as aliens, because they act
so differently to adults.

Your last chance to catch Dr Harry and get some advice about training and
caring for your canine is this Sunday, at 11am and 1pm in the Overflow.

Too many cooks spoil the broth...or do they? 
The cooking gene has definitely not skipped a generation at this year’s Arts Perishable Cooking Judging, with family entries all the rage.

Judged on Thursday 20 March, in the Arts Pavilion and with a record number of entries this year, a selection of families went home proud as pie.    

Sisters Annabelle and Emily and father Danny McGee have also kept with the family baking tradition, with all three placing six entries between them into the Judging.

The family walked away with six places including Danny’s second place
wins for white bread, wholemeal bread, damper and hot cross buns.
Daughter Emily placed second with her Orange Cake while Annabelle
received third place for her collection of slices.

“We’ve been doing this for a long time. It’s tradition and good fun,” said
Danny.

Perishable Cooking Judge Barbara Lowery said the standard of this
year’s entries was exceptionally high. “I’m absolutely thrilled about the
number of family entries at the Show this year,” she said.

District Exhibits Results
It was a close competition as the District Exhibit winners were announced at the Show on Friday 21 March.

The Northern District Exhibit took out both the overall District Exhibit
Competition and the prestigious Sydney Markets People’s Choice Award.

South East Queensland won the Woolworths Supermarkets Perpetual
Trophy for best display.

Chairman of the Agricultural Committee, Hunter White, said “The standard has been exceptional. The themes coming through this year
were strong and quite different.” 

You can find the District Exhibit displays in the Woolworths Fresh Food
Dome, for the remainder of the Show.