Hot chilli and community the focus of Ashburton A&P

The annual Show took place over the weekend, marking the event’s 148th year and the second it has been led by President Ben Stock. He says the Association is looking to continue the show’s ongoing engagement with the community. 

“It’s a huge family and community day out, it’s your traditional A and P, you’ve got your candyfloss, your pet shed, joyrides, clowns.

“It’s encouraging our community to come out and participate.”

He acknowledged that Shows around the country are all needing a lot of work to sustain, and attributes this weekend’s success to the committee behind the event.

“They’ve been working really hard for the last few months.”

Stock says this year saw a number of new and returning attractions, including celebrity shearing and chilli-eating.

“There’s some personalities within Ashburton that we’ve hauled along and put in front of a few hundred people and asked them to shear a sheep.

“The chilli eating competition is a first for Ashburton, but just the whole show arena, actually, you know the grand parade, the hotdogs, we’ve got members of the community coming down and cooking a hāngī, or a Pacific island umu, lots of machinery, the horses, the showjumping, it’s all positive.”

Next year’s 149th Show will run from the 30th to 31st of October, and the 150th ‘Big Show’ in 2027.