From Penk’s Pen

What a wonderful Helensville Show that was!

No doubt many readers also enjoyed a great day out recently at this iconic annual event. Held at the Helensville Showgrounds, as usual, community spirit and initiative was very clearly on display.

For me there were many highlights. I think this year’s choice of theme – wool – was an excellent one. Making better use of this natural product (or by-product, if we think about other reasons for raising sheep) is something that it’ll be very worthwhile for government to consider. It will be good for this region if we can crack that nut, with all the environmental and health benefits that go with greater use of wool, as well as obvious wins regarding jobs, the local economy etc.

The organisers of the Helensville Show would have been so pleased to have such good weather and a good turnout on Saturday, particularly in the context of other recent shows having to be abandoned. This time last year, flooding issues prevented the show running and of course in the previous few years a covid-tinged cloud had been hovering ominously.

Not only was the weather spectacular but everyone seemed determined to make the most of the occasion.

The grounds looked good and sounded even better, with Kumeu Brass playing a couple of great sets of classic numbers.  Moving from the sublime to the ridiculous, a fox terrier race provided a hilarious opportunity for some enthusiastic four-legged friends to showcase their speed and obedience. A few of them failed to take that opportunity fully, as you might expect, but that was all part of the fun.

As always, it was great to see first responders present and available to talk with the community. I enjoyed chatting to representatives of Kaipara Coast Guard, the local Police and fire service volunteers, who were there along with various other great community organisations of different kinds.

Huge kudos is owed to the organisers of the Helensville Show. I cannot imagine just how many hours the President, Dave and his team must have put into the planning and preparation.  They can have the satisfaction of knowing that their hard work paid off handsomely and hopefully now enjoy some time quietly reflecting on a job very well done.

Cheers, Chris Penk

Comments are closed.