Royal Adelaide Show | The Biggest Fest of the Year

09.10.2017 – The weekend was busy for some, and trying to recuperate from the past week of travel in and out of the city towards the tail end of the winter is very new for someone who is used to the tropical weather. You can feel the changing season when the weather is having a weird one, having cold weather, and then the next day it is hot. But yesterday was just another one of those highlights if you have been living in this part of Australia. The Royal Adelaide Show is 177 years old, which is a carnival and agricultural show, where you see livestock, farming, and rides for everyone. I wasn’t able to experience it last year, since I only arrived here last December. I’ve heard of it in the past, thanks to my niece’s ranting about that event.

It was really cold, and I wasn’t feeling well, nursing a fever. The changing climate has affected my body since coming back from Manila last May. I had to experience two types of summer season from December to May, and in between that are two versions of how a dry season and a wet season can change what your body is used to.

This was an unexpected situation when I just wanted to stay indoors, covered by a thick, layered blanket with no lights on. But I was dragged to the last day of the Royal Adelaide Show, which has been open since last week. It is all over the news since Adelaide is a festival state, and this is their biggest event to welcome the end of winter heading to springtime. I felt like dragging myself to this event was not the best time, like carrying a dead weight.

But I have to oblige since nobody’s going to be home but me, dealing with a cough and fever for the rest of the day. I’ve never seen too many people in one location, and I’m used to seeing the city of Adelaide as less crowded. But this is their biggest event of the season. For some, it's just another event, but personally, for me, it was an experience being part of the annual tradition, just even for once.

Sights, Fireworks, and Carnival Games

There are interesting things when you are in the Royal Adelaide Show, aside from being a place where you are going to spend a lot of money on food and other things, this event has interesting exhibitors like the SA Police and even the SA Power Networks, having their company chopper on display. The SA Power Networks is an electric power distributor, which would be the Philippines' counterpart of Meralco.

The carnival rides are the crowd drawers for the youth, but the games to win something are also one of the interesting things to see at the Royal Adelaide Show. The main show is the stunts, and wrapping it up with fireworks. It’s a fun experience if I wasn’t under the weather when the climate change, the same way my body is dealing with the same thing with this fever.

Countless Merchandise and Showbags

One of the major highlights for this event, aside from the arts, agriculture, and petting farm animals, is the Showbags. In other places, they call it “Loot Bags.” But it sounded like a robbery term. But since I’m in a “show,” then it is a “showbag.” There was A LOT despite not feeling well for the whole duration of this event, I was able to look around and see what stuff they have for this year’s showbag.

There is no end to appreciating that the Showbags are not just for kids, but for everyone. I’m just surprised by the sheer amount of merchandise being offered, depending on the price and content. You will see some interesting stuff that you don’t normally see or even being sold in retail about the contents.

At the end of the day, the Royal Adelaide Show was worth the experience with family in tow, because it is indeed an affair for the kids to pet animals or to explore what South Australia has to offer in its diverse industries. I wasn’t paying attention that much to who the guests were at the ABC Adelaide booth. I’d be able to roam around to see the personalities from Garden Australia if I were not feeling well.



But it was an overall experience if I can visit this wonderful event again. For now, the Men’s Magazine Showbag that I picked up had impressive contents, and I thought they were just product magazines. Maybe next time I’d keep an eye on what the Hot Wheels or K-Zone Showbag would be offering.

The Royal Adelaide Show is an annual event that is held at the Adelaide Showground, which is from September 1 to 10, 2017. For more about the annual event, you can follow them through social media on Facebook and Instagram!