Setting the stage around the grounds

Months before the Easter Show, Lynelle spends time at the Olympic Park offices to scout for new talent. “I start off with a macchiato to get going,” she shares. “I'm usually in the office from 6:00 [or 6:30] in the morning; I'm an early bird person. I will come in, and I spend an hour searching all my colleagues internationally; what they're doing, what they're doing around the grounds, and what's hot and what's not.”

Much of these early mornings help prepare for her weekly meetings with international contacts outside Australia, including those from the United States and Canada; some of these meetings even start as early as 2:00 in the morning.

Lynelle explains that her methods for talent-search is “old school”, but simple. “I still use Facebook,” she elaborates. “I'm not into Instagram or other means. I do a lot of YouTube as well.” Likewise, she programs her talent schedule through spreadsheets. “I'm an Excel sheet girl, and I'll list all my venues, all on one … daily document, and they start from 8am through to 10pm at night.”

Lynelle is also an active member of the International Association of Fairs and Exposition (IAFE), the industry body responsible for supporting agricultural fairs, shows and exhibitions. She and many other entertainment experts anticipate their annual trade show in the States. “That’s where we find the international headline artists,” she says. “It's like walking in Woolworths [or] Coles. You go up and there's over 700 entertainers. You meet with them and you see what they've got and what they can showcase.

“That's where I got Milord Entertainment High Dive Show. And I also got the Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Show as well.”

"It's like walking in Woolworths [or] Coles ... there's over 700 entertainers. You meet with them and you see what they've got and what they can showcase."

- on finding talent for the Sydney Royal Easter Show

Entertainers are programmed according to both the venue and the talent themselves. For instance, Lynelle reserves track-based acts like Airtime Freestyle MotoX and Chicken Run! at ENGIE Stadium for Lunchtime and Evening Entertainment. “A track-based act allows us to set up and strike the Main Arena,” she explains. “[The entertainment is] not stopping. The whole program is a continuous program all the way through.”

ENGIE Stadium is also home to many wildly ambitious animal acts, be it herds of galloping horses or bison stampedes. Horse entertainer Dave Manchon performs annually at the Show, with this year seeing him host A Tribute to Banjo and Imagine a Horse. Lynelle recalls a favourite moment from the latter act: “I think the highlight of this year’s show was having ‘Pink Pony Club’ [the Chappel Roan song playing] with the horses dyed pink … Every night they were washed, and the pink chalk was applied that [next] afternoon.”

      

Meanwhile, the Amphitheatre features smaller performances from a cast of children’s television characters – Dorothy the Dinosaur, the Wiggles and Bluey are especially popular among families coming in for the school holidays. 

Other times, community dance groups will take centre stage. According to Lynelle, dancers are expected to submit an online audition. “They have to send in a three-minute clip of a performance,” Lynelle says. She further elaborates that the auditions are then judged and scored by herself and a judging panel. “We spend a day and a half adjudicating them. We will get up to about 170 applications, and we've only got room for 50.

“It's a good thing … because you see your costumes, you see your music and [your] style.”

      

Big hits at ENGIE Stadium

ENGIE Stadium is known for attracting some of the fan favourites at the Easter Show, including Airtime Freestyle MotoX, hosted by veteran announcer Tommy G. The iconic team of motorcyclists has been programmed at the Easter Show for 26 years, impressing Showgoers with daredevil tricks and wild flips.

“They're motorised sports and they’re family orientated,” Lynelle comments. “Little ones through the grandmas will sit and watch it.”

Also joining the stunts is the Chicken Run!, featuring farmyard animals racing amok in quad bikes. These comical characters are also played by the Airtime Freestyle MotoX team, each rider trading their dirt bike gear for full-body animal suits. “I actually went ‘Okay, what other acts can you bring with you?’ So that's how we created Chicken Run! It’s a fun little event. The boys are here already riding, and their freestyle gives them another activity to do, so we created that act on quad bikes for it.”

Lynelle knows the appeal that Chicken Run! offers to families. “I think it's the sound and the noise. And the kids always love the chase.”

“They're motorised sports and they’re family orientated. Little ones through the grandmas will sit and watch it.”

Lynelle brings up Kain Saul, one of the Airtime MotoX motorcyclists who plays the infamous Fox character. “He's been one of my riders, and everybody cheers him on. He's the best of the best. But to see him go out in the fox suit and get booed – it is the funniest thing, because he's always in his other roles. He's the number one [at the Airtime Freestyle MotoX], but he's the nasty in the Chicken Run!.”

Meanwhile, newer acts such as the K9 Superwall Challenge have attracted full-house attention. Hosted by Farmer Dave and Shaun “Shearer Shaun” Madden, this (literally) high-stakes competition sees canines and their owners competing with high-jumps over a planked wall that increases in height.

An evening-exclusive event, Lynelle shares that it’s returned for a second year – and, potentially, returning for a third. “I think it's the underdog – excuse the pun. People like to see the competition, especially if you do State of Origin: State versus State … small dogs versus big dogs and everything. It pulls at the heart strings.”

      

The best part of Entertainment

Despite the long, exhaustive hours, Lynelle affirms us that there is still lots to enjoy in her role. Seeing the smiles and laughter on everyone’s faces is enough to know that her hard work had paid off at every Show.

She also believes in giving Showgoers a positive experience as they leave the gates. “If I'm walking around and I see someone – some dad’s pushing a pram with [mum and] three screaming kids, and he's not having a great day – I always have special little one-day passes in my bag.

“And that's the thing: I don't want him to go home, tell his friends ‘Don't go to the show,’ because it wasn't the Show that made him hate the Show … So I will go up to those people and say ‘Here's two more tickets. Why don't you and your wife come back and enjoy the Show by yourselves?’ So that's just a positive twist on it.”