CWA congratulates show organisers on the Royal event's triumphant return
Screams from the carnival rides, animals making their return to the show ring, all the colour of the pavilions and, as has been tradition for almost 75 years, the smell of freshly-cooked scones from the CWA of NSW tea room.
Sydney's Royal Easter Show has wrapped up for 2021 and what a celebration it has been.
After organisers were forced to cancel in 2020, it thankfully was given the go-ahead this year, a welcome sign of a slow return to normality after the challenges, traumas and frustrations of the past 12 months.
There's no doubt the Royal Agricultural Society (RAS) would have held its collective breath in the past few months, hoping this massive and much-loved event would actually be able to open the gates to the public once again. But open the gates it did and eager show-goers did not let them down.
For the CWA of NSW it was good to be back, serving visitors our range of edible treats including our famous Devonshire teas. Of course, we didn't have as many people as usual at the tea room, but we were all so glad to be there after last year's cancellation and enjoyed hosting so many happy faces.
There really is such a wonderful atmosphere and we get so much pleasure seeing family and friends using the tea room as a meeting place to catch up and reconnect.
The tea room at the Sydney Royal Easter Show is also our most important fundraiser of the year, usually raising on average $100,000 that goes towards supporting our many assistance programs and scholarships.
To miss out on that all-important revenue in 2020 was a bitter pill to swallow, as it was for all the organisations and community groups who participate in the event.
Organisers have said this year's show may hold the distinction of being one of the biggest ticketed events in the world in 2021, so to be part of that milestone event was a real honour.
With the smaller numbers of show-goers our scone record was not going to be broken this year, but some people have said it may be the largest number of scones sold anywhere in the world since pandemic restrictions were imposed.
That can't be officially confirmed obviously, but we're happy to 'unofficially' claim that title! As is always the case, our tea room doesn't happen without our volunteers and dedicated catering committee so a big thank you to all.
Congratulations, too, to the RAS for moving on from the disappointment of last year and presenting an event that was such a wonderful celebration for not only the country communities who are the backbone of the Royal Easter Show, but also for city-siders and even the nation as a whole.
It gives us hope this is just the first of many major events to get back up and running in 2021 and the RAS - and rural and regional NSW - has lead the way.
- Stephanie Stanhope is the CWA of NSW president.
