James McCurdy, pictured here having his face painted as Spiderman, was one of 20,000 people to enjoy the Berwick Show on the weekend. 42801 Picture: Kim Cartmell
By Jade Lawton
THE Berwick Show may be 162 years old but it certainly isn’t showing its age.
About 20,000 people flocked to Akoonah Park on the weekend for the show, which organisers said was the biggest outside of Melbourne.
The entertainment program attracted a new generation of show-goers with its freestyle motocross, a car-crushing monster truck and traditional show attractions.
Berwick Show Society president Warwick Glendenning said it was one of the most successful he had overseen.
“Definitely the motorbikes and the monster truck are crowd pleasers, but really the biggest attraction is the people coming through the gates,” he said.
“We are so happy that these people come and we try to give them value for money.”
Competitions were also strong at the show.
“Horse entries were down but I believe it was the biggest showing of cattle we have ever had, and the biggest showing of sheep,” Mr Glendenning said.
The weather was kind, despite rumblings of thunder and lightning early Saturday morning.
“We were (worried). Believe me, some of the competitors came through Lang Lang and Korumburra and said it was bucketing down,” he said.
“But it rained for about 10 minutes and that was it. The big fella upstairs looked after us.”
Mr Glendenning said parking around the showgrounds was “still pretty tight” despite the committee adding another day to the show to cater for several of the horse events.
However, a free shuttle bus with several stops around Berwick helped ease congestion and boosted Berwick’s economy.
Berwick Chamber of Commerce president Harry Hutchinson said he recorded his second-best Sunday sales for the year.
“It was equivalent to Boxing Day trade and 40 per cent up on last year’s show weekend,” he said.
“The show has big benefits for Berwick.”
Saturday night was topped with a spectacular fireworks display that lasted about eight minutes.
Mr Glendenning said a police presence, proactive security and a ban on alcohol after 6pm kept the evening festivities family friendly.
“Narre Warren police do a fantastic job. We also had new security and I’d like to thank them, they were proactive and kept working hard,” he said.
The 2010 Berwick Show was Mr Glendenning’s third and final show as president of the society.
The Gazette understands senior vice-president Peter Wenn will take to the helm at the society’s annual general meeting in June.
