Young people will be receiving plenty of encouragement to become involved in agriculture when the Courtenay A&P Show is held on November 23 at Kirwee.
Association president Hamish Reid has chosen the theme Youth and Agriculture, which he said acknowledged the importance of agriculture to the district and encouraged young people to ''give it a go''.
There will be plenty of opportunity for young people to show off their skills, with classes for the young herdsperson in the cattle and goat sections, or the junior showmanship class for goat handlers. Then there are calf and lamb classes with sponsorship from Fonterra and Dairy NZ.
Organisers expect about 100 pet lambs and their young handlers.
There are sections for young people who raise poultry, such as bantams, pet poultry and eggs, or special classes for young fruit and vegetable growers.
There are also children's sections covering floral art, sand saucers, baking, sewing, crafts and photography.
The show also has classes in several sections restricted to Young Farmers club members and Methven club members will be running an ''agri kids'' competition.
Mr Reid has added a special competition for this year's show - a four-bar pony-jumping competition for young people.
''We'll keep raising the bar until there is a `last man standing', Mr Reid said.
For those wishing to be entertained, there will be an animal tent and Squash Canterbury will have an inflatable squash court, giving people the chance to try the game. Local entertainers Shad Rutherford and pupils from the Tara Marshall dance studio will be there.
Entries were good for the show, Mr Reid said, and all the usual classes would be run. Horse events always attracted the most entries, he said, but there would be ''a bit of everything'' at the small, friendly show. There are 11 classes for riding horses.
This year the association has a website (www.courtenayshow.org.nz) and will post weather conditions there on show day.
- Maureen Bishop.