With 131 years behind it, the Berry Show is jam-packed with activities from horse-jumping and cattle judging to pavilion exhibitions and family entertainment.
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At the Pavilion, locals admired local art, photography, crafts, flowers, vegetables and baked goods.
Jim Bieler spent his first year away from the role as chief secretary of the show, which he held for 16 years.
He said the variety of exhibits at the Pavilion depended on the “latest fad”. Looking back, he said preserves used to be one of the most popular entries, before pesto became the newer trend. Now, “rainbow cakes” are one of the most popular pavilion entries at the show.
“You still want to keep the traditions too though,” said Mr Bieler. “It’s a balancing act.”
Pavilion chief stewardess Sharon Jeffery, said the bright colours of the multi-layered cakes were more attractive to children competing in the show.
“We’ve got to stay up to date and keep things a little bit more fashionable,” Ms Jeffery said.
“Without the younger generation, there will be no show in the Pavilion.”
Mr Bieler said when he commenced his role at the show, the Berry population was below 600. That number grew well above 5000 after 10 years, bringing new entrants every year.
He said when new sections or “classes” were added, it usually took about three years before the section “took off”.
Mr Bieler said working in the Show Society as chief secretary was “a big job”.
He said the role required 20 hours of dedication a week all-year round, and even while administrating the show, he would already be working on the following two shows.
Ms Jeffery said entrants come from as far as Sydney, the Southern Highlands and Milton to enter their exhibits.
Her day begins at 4am during show time, to prepare the exhibits and meet the competitors.
“It takes so long to stage them and they’ve got to get them all just right,” she said.
She said the junior section at the pavilion was the most difficult to look after because it was all other sections “combined into one area”.
“If you can do that, you can do anything,” she said.
The Berry Show is run by two committees of over 75 volunteers with hundreds of volunteers joining over the two days.
Gates open 7.30am to 10pm on Friday February 1 and Saturday February 2.
Tickets cost $15 for adults and $5 for children.