i put up a post on the hand mirror last night about the impact of culture & environment on individual choices, and another one this morning about the so-called "no moan zone" idea that came out of an entrpreneurial summit.
tonight we went to the waikat winter show. i haven't been for years and wanted to take the kids. it was good night to be there, if you don't like crowds cos pretty much everyone else was at the rugby. so no queues for the rides, no waiting in line for your hot chips. but it was sooooo cold.
not much of a show though, not like i remember from my younger days. a lot of the stalls were empty, and there weren't many rides. i guess it's a testament to the fact that there are so many other forms of entertainment these days, and so many regular events where you can get similar types of entertainment. still, the girls went on something called "kamikaze" which looked pretty nasty but they claim to have enjoyed it. and of course we had to go on the dodgems, i absolutely love those!!!
but still, there was the feeling that the show was part of a bygone era and not likely to last too much longer. which seems sad really - even our leisure activities are increasingly being run by big business.
2 comments:
Agricultural shows have never primarily been about entertainment - it's an opportunity for a particular business group to network and advertise.
As for the idea that big business didn't use to run agricultural shows during the 'good old days' (let alone that they didn't used to have a hand in the entertainment industry), well, I don't know exactly which era you're talking about, but I'm pretty sceptical about that too.
I'd put the empty stalls down to bad economic times - less people have the spare cash to put on an exhibition when the benefits are so long term.
ah, hugh, perhaps you're confusing the winter show with the field-days (the latter to be held in june)? although the winter show did use to have a significant agricultural component. i remember the vege section with the huge pumpkins and other veges, with prizes awarded. same for the animals, there would be prize-winning animals on display. but all that seems to have disappeared years ago.
nowadays, the winter show is a very weak country cousin of auckland's easter show - more of a carnival type affair. but as you say, the empty stalls are likely to be partly because of recession, but also because this type of entertainment just isn't that popular anymore.
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