It was hot but there were plenty of smiles as the first Queensland agricultural show launched last Friday at Stanthorpe.
Food, wine, sheep dog trials and of course the sideshow rides entertained a good crowd over three days in the Southern Downs regional town.
President of the Stanthorpe Agricultural Society Brett "Boaty" Boatfield said the community rose to the challenge of being the first show for 2023 in Queensland.
"We take the challenge of being the first one and pride ourselves on putting on a very good show," he said.
"Every show you go to is different, and you know what, they are all good.
"I think we are in for a great show season because people want to support the community and their local show and they just love their show."
While Mr Boatfield didn't have the official attendee numbers yet, he said it felt like a good turnout.
"First Queensland show of 2023 and it was a good one," he said.
"We had great weather, it was pretty warm, but everyone was happy.
"It's a bit early yet for exact attendance numbers but going from the crowd I saw I would say it's on par with the last few years, it wasn't down, it could have even been a bit better."
While Stanthorpe Show had avoided any pandemic related cancellations over the last several years, Mr Boatfield said it was good to return to a normal schedule of events for the show.
"That dirty word COVID never stopped us, we have never not had a show," he said.
"The stand out of this was it was back to our normal time slot and back to a normal show.
"People are aware of the requirements for hygiene and it was business as usual and it was magic, it's all about the community and that is why we put the show on."
Show sections also had solid numbers with poultry up, but stud cattle slightly down according to Mr Boatfield, but his real highlight was seeing happy children.
"My highlight is to see the smile on those kids, it's just the buzz of the place, everyone is happy," he said.
"Live music, people having a few beers, it's a good vibe and the showman's guild was fantastic.
"Our section's nominations were on average, the poultry section had very good numbers, the chooks and that, stud cattle was the one that was down a bit with not as many of the schools and their teams turning up."
Allora Show Society hosts their show as the second of the Queensland calendar this weekend.
