Where town and country meet! The Bathurst Agricultural Show is held over three days every year, with exhibitions to please farming fundis and urban enthusiasts alike. Last weekend saw the return of the crowds to this little town with the Big Pineapple only 40km outside of Grahamstown.
Where town and country meet! The Bathurst Agricultural Show is held over three days every year, with exhibitions to please farming fundis and urban enthusiasts alike. Last weekend saw the return of the crowds to this little town with the Big Pineapple only 40km outside of Grahamstown.
The Eastern Cape farming community gathered once again this year to celebrate horse-riding minors, futuristic tractors, pineapple juice and big bulls at the annual Bathurst Agricultural Show last weekend.
Saturday dawned overcast and dreary, and yet the grey cover and light drizzle only added to the ambience of muddy clothes, worn jeans and big gumboots. In fact, many of the attending farming folk would have looked out of place anywhere else, with their homemade wares, familiar faces and love for what can only be described as the agricultural highlight of the year in these parts.
You can expect knee-deep mud and sawdust clinging to the legs, and any pants that aren’t made of thick denim are looked at with mild interest and even vague surprise by the more experienced festival-goers. It’s a day where one can expect to get dirty, and one certainly should if planning on having any fun.
The festival was filled with the sounds of youngsters squealing in delight or disgust, clambering all over the carnival rides or at the petting station, where there were piglets, rams, goats and ponies. A selection of young girls gathered at the horse ring to showcase their equestrian skills, and many proved talented and decisive with the reins in hand.
A few of the riders found themselves on the floor when their horses refused to comply with their demands, but they remained poised and elegant as they picked themselves up gingerly. On a good note, the medical staff were quick and efficient, and there were no major injuries on the day.
The animal auction was a major attraction, with the booming voice of the auctioneer carrying across the festival grounds. This part of the festival seemed to belong to the men, gathered on benches in groups, muttering and stuttering to each other about the quality of the livestock before them. More than once a gruff conversation turned into deep-bellied laughter.
The market itself was fascinating. There were stalls filled with toys, clothes, jewellery and others selling their home-made produce, including pickled onions, marmelade, honey, dried fruit, jams, chutneys and even an extremely decent ginger beer – of which yours truly grabbed the last bottle.
There was much more on offer for even the fussiest of festgoers: fancy tractors, solar-powered golf carts, acollection of antique motor vehicles which included the majestic Alfa Romeo Spyder, farming machinery and innovative ideas for environmentally friendly farming, including water sanitisation solutions.
