After two years of cancellations due to the pandemic, the Penrith Show is back on at Penrith Showground next weekend. But, with the future of the Paceway and Showground still up in the air, this year is more significant than ever.
Penrith Show has been held on the current site since 1909 – 113 years out of the 179 since the society was first formed. Over this time, Penrith Show has become a significant part of the Paceway, and the community, with tens of thousands of people passing through each year.
With the last show being in 2019, Penrith Paceway CEO Tash Greentree couldn’t be more excited to finally see it return.
“We’re really, really pleased, and we’ve got lots of different things, lots of new things in this year’s show that we’re hoping will be of excitement to the local families and to the local kids as well,” she said.
Ms Greentree notes that the return of the show is not just exciting for attendees, but also for those who participate in the show, such as the schools across the region that partake in the school ag competition.
“These kids have had just as horrendous a couple of years, if not worse than everybody else, as they’ve been locked down and learning from home and not being able to do these things, which are, in a kid’s life, definitely a bit of a highlight, to get out there and be a part of the community,” she said.
“It’s really good seeing all of these kids come back and participate in school ag and the school subjects, the craft, the cooking, and the painting and the photography. Just to be able to have that interaction and engagement with all of those people is really good to see return, as well as the show.”
With the return of the show comes a host of new and exciting things to look forward to, including Noah’s Thoroughbred Pig Racing, Walter Whip and The Flames, the freestyle motocross and the return of the wood chop.
“From my understanding, we haven’t had the wood chop in about 10 years,” she said.
“I’m unsure of the reasons why it was cancelled, but I know there is a lot of interest in the wood chop, so we’re really excited to see that back again this year.
Given there’s a chance this could be the last Penrith Show at the historic site on Station Street, Ms Greentree is encouraging everyone to come along next weekend and take part in a slice of Penrith nostalgia.
“Regardless of the outcomes with relation to the acquisition or the proposed acquisition of our land, the last two years have seen us locked down and locked inside, not being able to get out and do things like this,” she said.
“I certainly encourage everyone to come back to the show, and to really celebrate being free again.”
The Penrith Show is being held on August 27 and 28.
Cassidy Pearce is a news and entertainment journalist with The Western Weekender. A graduate of the University of Technology Sydney, she has previously worked with Good Morning Macarthur and joined the Weekender in 2022.
