The Walcha Show will have free entry on Saturday this year thanks to a $10,000 grant from the Hunter New England and Central Coast Primary Health Network.
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Walcha Show Society president Angus Monie said the grant was due to the hard work of local mayor Eric Noakes and show secretary Dale Webber.
"Both Eric Noakes and Walcha Council have been fantastic in securing this funding, as has our secretary Dale Webber who filled in the forms," he said.
"The real credit goes to them. I'm just the lucky one who gets to announce it. Eric Noakes is doing a great job as our mayor -I know I'm giving him a pat on the back, but he deserves it."
In Tenterfield, the local show was allocated $50,000 of Tenterfield Shire Council’s million-dollar drought grant from the Federal Government’s Drought Communities Programme. There the Show Society offered free entry but also placed a donation tin on the gates to collect for the Salvation Army however there are no plans to do this in Walcha.
The Empowering our Communities Fund is for community-led activities that build resilience during the big dry.
We feel our community deserves this
- Angus Monie
"The event fits the mental health criteria of the grant," Mr Monie said.
"We feel our community deserves this so we are just giving it and we'd like them to enjoy it. As far as a lot of the recent drought funding that has been thrown around in the western communities goes - I think Walcha has probably missed out, so this is something we can give back to the local community."
The show will run over two days on March 22 and 23 with all the usual elements, the return of some old favourites and the addition of a few new ones as well.
"The big event we've got back is the woodchop, which will be on Saturday, and we expect about 40 woodchop competitors including two international guys - one from America and one from Canada to come along," Mr Monie said.